[Our man in washington]

If only we had a means of encouraging people to produce more of a scarce item and discouraging people from consuming it. Wait, there might be...I think it’s called “price.”

[buwaya]

There is no shortage of places where one can grow cocoa.
Just let prices rise and new sources will come in.
The Philippines for instance could easily make a go of it.
We used to have that as an understory cop beneath our coconut trees. Ultimately there was more money running cattle there, but all that is a matter of pricing.

[WayneS]

This is simply not acceptable.

[molson209]

world’s biggest chocolate-maker wants to jack up the prices big time

[Alex Murphy]

Chocolate deficits, whereby farmers produce less cocoa than the world eats, are becoming the norm. Already, we are in the midst of what could be the longest streak of consecutive chocolate deficits in more than 50 years. It also looks like deficits aren't just carrying over from year-to-year—the industry expects them to grow. Last year, the world ate roughly 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than it produced. By 2020, the two chocolate-makers warn that that number could swell to 1 million metric tons, a more than 14-fold increase; by 2030, they think the deficit could reach 2 million metric tons.

[rockinqsranch]

Last month I had to quit eating chocolate due problems digesting the product. The streaks on my cheeks are from the tears shed over the loss of a great daily comfort of many years. SIIIIIIIIIIIGH no person should ever have to go without, but I’m tough, and will hang in there.

After reading this article I take solace in the fact there should now be considerably more on the market now for everyone else.

[Billthedrill]

That's it. First I wuz gonna dedicate the western acreage to hops for beer. Then I wuz gonna dedicate it to pot because, you know, it's a bigger margin than beer. Now it's gonna be chocolate. Yessiree, William T. Drill, chocolate farmer! I'm gonna be rich!

Now where the heck am I gonna get me some chocolate seeds? I've been looking inside the chocolates but every time I try it I end up eating them instead. I've found almonds and macadamia nuts but no chocolate seeds so far. Gotta keep trying, no matter how long it takes.

[Balding_Eagle]

A nasty fungal disease known as frosty pod hasn't helped either

Chocolate fanciers are going to be faced with a horrible question; Eat the GMO chocolate, or avoid it altogether.

[okie01]

The end is near...

[Einherjar]

” Last year, the world ate roughly 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than it produced. “

????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[PeteePie]

Women and minorities hardest hit.

[Zeppo]

Oh no!

Obama is going to have to increase our chocolate rations from 30g per person per month to 20g.

[Zeppo]

Clearly what is needed is for the federal government to set up a “strategic cocoa reserve” to mitigate the crisis.

Time for Obama to appoint a ‘Cocoa Czar’... Maybe establish it as a new cabinet position.

With any luck, maybe Jonathan Gruber will be available for that position.

[Fido969]

A stock market guy used to write under the pen name “Adam Smith”. In his book “The Money Game” he had a chapter called “The Chocolate Caper” about trying to make money on cocoa futures.

[catnipman]

Yep, it’s about that time again: slow news day, so time to re-recycle one of the MSM’s favorite phony doomsday stories:

1. The world’s running out of chocolate.

2. The world’s running out of coffee.

3. Sunspots will cause the world to grind to a halt.

4. A killer computer virus is killing all the PCs.

5. The honey bees are all dying and the food crops will all fail from lack of pollination.

Have I missed anything important? (And global warming and “climate change” don’t count because those never leave the news in the first place.)

[BCW]

But Willy has a chocolate river!

[showme_the_Glory]

Have they tried fracking for it? We will all die without chocolate.

[Tanniker Smith]

Sooooo .... cocoa futures?

[onona]

now THIS is SHTF material !!!

[Ken H]

No chocolate. No bacon. What’s the point of humanity continuing?