Hundreds of millions of chocolate eggs and bunnies will be consumed around the world for Easter, but the global shortage of cocoa has tripled prices in the last year, bringing the products on the counter at a significantly higher cost. The Guardian reports this, underlining that in the last week cocoa prices have risen to historic highs on the London and New York commodity exchanges, exceeding $10,000 per ton for the first time, after the third consecutive bad harvest in West Africa.
Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, which together produce more than half of the global cocoa crop, have been hit by extreme weather conditions, amplified by the climate crisis and the El Niño phenomenon. A spokesperson for Nestlé, which owns chocolate brands such as KitKat, Smarties and Quality Street, said prices for consumers may have to rise after the cost of cocoa tripled in 12 months. Annual chocolate consumption is estimated to exceed 8kg per person in the UK and 5kg in the US and Europe.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA