CHOCOCALYPSE: Easter egg prices set to soar as cocoa demand booms

choc-apocalypse

Food security expert Professor Tim Benton claims we are heading towards a “choc-apocalypse” with poor production and panic helping to create a shortage.


A shock report, Destruction of Chocolate, said a growing hunger for choccie bars in so-called developing countries was driving the crisis. Experts are fearful that shelves could be empty of Easter Eggs in future.

Prof Benton, from the University of Leeds, said: “Demand for cocoa is growing fast and it is not clear what stocks are held across the world.

“This creates a recipe for price uncertainty. This can drive up prices, lead to panic buying and create the potential for a price spike.

“If there is a bad production there is scope for a ‘choc-apocalypse’. Chocolate could become a treat rather than a daily delight.”

The report says 10 cocoa trees are needed to produce 286 bars, the average number eaten by a Western customer every year.

But new markets such as India, Brazil and Indonesia are opening up, placing a huge strain on hard-working farmers.

More than 70% of the world’s cocoa production comes from Ghana and the Ivory Coast in west Africa and stockpiles are said to be falling.

Report author Doug Hawkins said: “We could have a chocolate deficit of 100,000 tonnes in the next few years.”

Prof Benton added that “unpredictable” weather could also devastate this year’s crop.