Chocolate is native to the New World. The word is supposed to come from a Nahautl word (one of the indigenous languages of Mexico).
I’m of Hispanic ancestry, from a ranching family and when I was a kid, every time my dad was stationed stateside my brother and I would spent most of the summer on the family ranch near the border. We used to go across to shop for items that weren’t grown in the garden and were cheaper over there, such as spices-and cocoa-and it most certainly didn’t come from Africa.
Maybe we should move the major cocoa production back to the Americas? And maybe the Africans need to grow something that is native to THEIR country to export? Makes sense to me...