Posted on 11/17/2014 9:00:07 AM PST by Red Badger
Start hoarding those Hershey's Kisses and stockpile your Snickers: The world could soon experience a chocolate shortage.
Mars Inc. and Barry Callebaut, two of the world's largest chocolate makers, say that's the path we're headed down. They cite a perfect storm of factors: Less cocoa is being produced as more and more people are devouring chocolate.
In 2013, consumers ate about 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than was produced, The Washington Post reports, and that deficit could go up to 1 million metric tons by 2020. The Ivory Coast and Ghana produce more than 70 percent of the world's cacao beans, and both countries are experiencing dry weather that limits growth. To make things worse, a fungal disease called frosty pod has destroyed 30 to 40 percent of global cocoa production.
The world's appetite for chocolate isn't going away, and some countries, like China, are starting to consume more and more of the sweet treat. Dark chocolate is also rising in popularity, and that takes much more cocoa to create. Although researchers are trying to create trees that can produce more cacao beans than traditional trees, there's one catch: Chocolate made through this process loses its delicious taste. The only solution is to buy in bulk now and hide your stash where no one can find it. - - Catherine Garcia
If might be BS now, but stocking up on cigarrettes and chocolate to barter in a financial crisis is an interesting thought.
In 2013, consumers ate about 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than was produced.
Does this make sense? NO!!!
If the consumers ate 70,000 tons more than what was produced
and they expect it to be a million ton by 2020 then they must have one big surplus.
Looks like a big story that is not.
Think you’re probably right on the money,Jonty30..........the old saying “follow the money” still applies.
This sounds like an opportunity for people in third world countries to make bank doing honest work. No problem seen here. More gummies given away for Halloween.
The total West African region supplies about 70% of the world’s cocoa and Côte d’Ivoire, which shares its western border with Liberia and Guinea, contributes almost 40%. While there have been some concerns that Ebola could reach Côte d’Ivoire, the rapid and strong reaction of its Government has kept the disease at bay so far, and the country has yet to register a single case. The main harvest for cocoa, which runs from October to March in Côte d’Ivoire, is currently well under way, and stakeholders are making all efforts to ship cocoa from the country as soon as it is available.
http://www.icco.org/home/latest-news.html
Rest easy, the level of Crap is rocketing!!
We can control the climate of the entire planet but we can’t make more chocolate?
That sucks.
In 2013, consumers ate about 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than was produced.
Does this make sense?
The difference is that they are counting recycled chocolate
Apparently we ate the reserve stockpiles.....................
International stocks are estimated well over a million metric tons. Draw down of a few percentage points of the stockpile does not seem to be a stretch.
http://www.icco.org/about-us/icco-news/266-august-2014-quarterly-bulletin-of-cocoa-statistics.html
I see what you did there.
If annual production deficits are going to keep rising until they reach a million metric tons in 2020, that must be one huge strategic chocolate reserve we have stashed away.
Now if someone said that there was dearth of M&M’s, I might see cause to panic.
My previous post was me amusing myself at the funny question posed by Cowboy Bob
Who is that?....................
My first thought was to find a photo of “that wasn’t chocolate” like the “that wasn’t chicken” photo.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
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