Cocoa futures continue to rise to new records, with experts forecasting that the supply demands will worsen the increasing costs for chocolate.
Cocoa futures rose as much as 5.5% to $11,925 a ton on Monday. It broke April’s record price of $11,722. Prices have nearly tripled causing chocolatiers like Hershey Corporation and Lindt & Spruengli to raise prices.
Prices soared earlier this year as weak harvests in Ghana and the Ivory Coast caused shortages for chocolate producers, Bloomberg reported. West Africa accounts for almost 60% of the worldwide production of cocoa beans.
Production has regained momentum but severe weather, such as Harmattan winds that can dry soil and stress crops and heavy rains, threatened farms in the region.
Cocoa harvest weighed at Ivory Coast ports is below the average, Mark Bowman, an analyst for ADM Investor Services told Bloomberg.
Bowman said the “slowdown raises additional concerns that this year’s crop” will not “be enough to avoid another production deficit.”
Bowman said the Harmattan wind is expected to bring warmer and dryer conditions to West Africa in the next seven to 10 days which will limit cocoa production.
“The trigger was the anticipated weather influence on the Ivory Coast and Ghana mid-crops, as well as the Harmattan arriving to add further potential damage,” said Nicko Debenham, a sustainability adviser, told the news outlet. “That means there are now expectations the current season will end in a global deficit, a shift from previous estimates of a surplus.”
The cacao plant, which is responsible for making cacao seeds, is having trouble surviving, according to the U.S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If this trend continues, it is forecast that the world could run out of chocolate by 2050.
Coffee beans are also experiencing a rise in costs at $3.44 per pound, hitting a record high for java drinkers.
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