If you love chocolate, you better start stocking up. The Daily Mail reports that experts warn we are headed for a worldwide chocolate shortage in the next few years, largely because of political unrest in the Ivory Coast, where 40 per cent of the world's cocoa beans are grown.
The Daily Mail reports: "The situation is already affecting chocolate manufacturers, who are facing the highest cocoa prices for over 30 years. Prices jumped by 10 per cent this month alone. Analysts are predicting they could soon hit $3,720 per metric tonne – a level last seen in January 1979. It follows a curb on international cocoa exports initiated earlier this week by the country's new president, Alassane Ouattara."
Because of the political upheaval, certified cocoa producers are fleeing the Ivory Coast. It takes up to three years to find a replacement.
That means two things. First, prices are going to skyrocket which is alarming given that the United Nations food agency has told us that its global price index hit a record high in December, eclipsing levels in 2008 when soaring food prices triggered riots in several countries.
Soaring food prices will fuel global inflation. Chocolate is just part of the mix.
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