HSY - Your Chocolate Cravings May Get Costlier: Cocoa Shortage Sends Prices Skyrocketing To All-Time Highs | Benzinga
The price of cocoa has doubled in the past year, reaching an all-time high and potentially leading to a surge in chocolate prices.
What Happened: The cost of cocoa has doubled over the past year, with the most active futures contract reaching $5,600 a metric ton on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. This is the highest price the contract has reached in 65 years of Bloomberg data, reported Business Insider.
The primary cause of this shortage is extreme weather conditions in West Africa, the source of most of the world’s cocoa beans. These conditions have led to a crop disease and now, dry weather is further hampering production.
Paul Davis, the president of the European Cocoa Association, warned that prices could rise to $6,000 a ton. The situation is expected to persist for another 18 months to three years, with no immediate solution in sight.
“We’ve got headwinds all over the place at the moment,” he said. “Very expensive fertilizers, tough conditions for farmers, tough conditions for consumers.”
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