Cocoa product prices are expected to spike

The prices of chocolate and other cocoa products are expected to increase significantly. This is because the harvest of cacao beans, the raw material for cocoa products, has plummeted due to extreme weather events and epidemics in major cocoa-producing countries in West Africa. Due to the shortage, the price of cacao beans has been rising daily, even leading to the mention of a 'global chocolate crisis.'

Major cocoa processing plants in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which produce about 60 percent of the world's cacao, have stopped or scaled back processing because they can't afford to buy cacao beans, as reported by Reuters and other sources on Wednesday. Cocoa processing plants turn the beans into butter, liquid, and powder, which are then exported to food companies around the world that manufacture chocolate and other products.

Transcao, a major cocoa processor in Côte d'Ivoire, recently stopped buying cacao beans due to price hikes. Although it stated that it was still processing from its existing stock, the plant was nearly idle. Other plants in Côte d'Ivoire, as well as those in Ghana, are facing a similar situation.

Even in the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire, the largest producer of cacao beans, production has plunged by about 30 percent in the past year, leading to more than doubling prices. Cocoa price futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday hit a record high of $7,049 per metric ton, up 4.7 percent from the previous trading day.

Heavy rains, epidemics, and other factors have been blamed for the poor harvest of cacao beans. Last year, rainfall in West Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, was more than double the 30-year average, according to Bloomberg. Heavy rains during the summer, which coincided with the harvest season, contributed to the spread of ‘black pod disease,’ a fungus that causes cacao beans to wither. Additionally, during the winter, El Niño, characterized by unusually warm water temperatures near the equator, caused the cacao trees to wilt.

Some experts believe this decline in supply will continue through 2025. Recent outbreaks of various cacao bean diseases indicate that the shortage won't be resolved soon.


김보라 기자 purple@donga.com