Chocolate is expected to become even more expensive, especially in Europe. Ghana, a major cocoa producer, has warned that European buyers should be prepared to shell out.
With new European regulations guaranteeing that the product (cocoa bean) is not grown in logging sites, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which together supply about two-thirds of chocolate’s main ingredient, must create new production systems.
The rules will go into effect at the end of this month., although companies must comply with them until the end of 2024. Besides EU also takes steps to address issues such as child labour. According to Ghana Cocoa Board Managing Director Joseph Boahen Aidoo, fulfillment of these requirements entail additional costs to be paid by consumers.
“We want to produce cocoa in a sustainable and responsible way, to produce a product of high quality and value. So consumers have to be willing to pay for it,” Aidoo said in an interview.
Ghana warning about additional costs comes as chocolate prices rise as consumers around the world continue to grapple with higher confectionery prices.
Cocoa futures in London rose to their highest level since 2016 amid fears that adverse (dry) weather could limit the supply of raw materials – cocoa beans.
The new EU rules will also apply to products such as coffee, palm oil and soybeans.. Aidoo said that the cocoa farm in Ghana complies with the law. “It is in our interest to improve and continue to protect the environment in which we produce cocoa,” he said. – Our system has a national identity and improved transparency, which allows the regulatory body to apply the verification of the location of farms and the accuracy of claims of no child labor on plantations“.
Until now, 2/3 of all cocoa production is in West Africa, where approximately 1.6 million children work illegally. These are children who are not even 10 years old yet. Many of them have to “plow” on cocoa plantations without pay. Just for food. These are child slaves.
When first world kids enjoy chocolate, third world kids experience very different emotions that this industry evokes in them. One is eaten, the other is produced.
Chocolate prices rose 14% last year, according to NielsenIQ data. And according to some market watchers, they will continue to rise…
“The cocoa market is seeing a marked increase in prices… This season is in short supply for the second time in a row. Cocoa inventories are expected to fall to unusually low levels,” Sergei Chevertakov, chief analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights, recently told CNBC. The expert also added that unfavorable weather is predicted (El Niño) and drought in areas where cocoa plantations are located.
According to the Mintec database, the basis of the chocolate bar is cocoa butter, the price of which also increased by 20.5%. But sugar, another key ingredient in chocolate, is also on the rise, hitting an 11-year high in April.
In a word, it is expected that in the near future the high prices for chocolate will not only not decrease, but even grow.
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