The world’s supplies of chocolate are reaching dangerously low levels, as demand outpaces supply and cocoa producers warn the situation may get even worse.
The Washington Post reports “chocolate deficits” have been occurring with more frequency, and major manufacturers — including Mars Inc. — say the next few decades could prove disastrous for chocolate lovers.
The world already ate more cocoa than produced last year, leaving the industry with a deficit of 70,000 metric tons, The Post reported. By 2030, that number could hit 2 million, the companies say.
Dry weather in West Africa, the Ebola outbreak and even fungal diseases have all contributed to the problem and hampered farmers from producing at full strength. Some farmers have even given up the cocoa dream and started producing other crops.
“Demand for chocolate is great,” Ashmead Pringle, the president of GreenHaven Commodity Services, told Bloomberg in December.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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