Chocolate prices are on the rise. This has not only been recently forecast by Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer, but it is also evident from raw cocoa prices. In Ghana, West Africa, one of the main cocoa-growing regions, state-guaranteed harvest prices for cocoa have recently increased by 45%, according to Fairtrade Austria. In neighboring Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), there has been a 20% rise. At the same time, climate change and a “gold rush” are threatening cocoa cultivation.
Despite rising prices, cocoa farmers and their families in the region are facing significant challenges, said Fairtrade Austria’s Managing Director Hartwig Kirner, following a media-accompanied trip to Ghana. “Fluctuating harvest yields due to extreme weather events and sharply increasing production and living costs are driving many families into poverty in this situation.” Contributing factors include unfavorable currency exchange rates, as well as rising transport and energy costs.
Many farmers are losing hope, raising questions about how future demand will be met as global cocoa demand continues to rise.
After witnessing the situation firsthand, Kirner reported that Fairtrade representatives were “constantly being made aware of the problem of highly fluctuating harvest yields, often by 50% or more annually.” He added, “How is a cooperative, let alone a single family, supposed to save the financial means to plant new cocoa trees or invest in irrigation systems?”
Additionally, there is the temptation of short-term financial gain through illegal gold mining. “The consequences are devastating. Cocoa fields and even protected forests are being sacrificed for gold mining. This provides short-term profits but renders the soil and environment unusable for generations,” Kirner explained. “This makes it incredibly difficult to inspire the younger generation to work on cocoa farms and carry on their family businesses in the future.” Kirner naturally appealed to chocolate lovers to ensure they purchase fair trade chocolate.
Recently, Peter Feld, the CEO of Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer based in Switzerland, predicted rising chocolate prices. However, he noted that consumption is expected to increase rather than decline, as it has for decades, “despite wars, financial crises, and other disruptions.”
