Higher chocolate prices this Easter are just one example of the disruptions occurring in the food supply chain, which experts say consumers are starting to take notice of. Events such as flooding in California leading to higher lettuce prices, bad crops causing rising orange juice prices, and the Russia-Ukraine war affecting wheat prices are becoming more common. Cocoa futures have seen a significant increase, with cocoa prices nearly 65 per cent higher than a year ago, due to bad weather and disease in West Africa affecting crop yields. This has impacted the confection business, as cocoa is a key ingredient in many popular chocolate products, with West Africa being a major producer.
The unpredictability of weather patterns has affected cocoa production, with Côte D’Ivoire, a significant cocoa producer, experiencing a 30 per cent decline in production over the past year due to climate change and disease. Cocoa production is highly concentrated, making the crop and its supply chain more vulnerable to disruptions. While cocoa prices do not directly translate to retail prices, they do have an impact, and retail prices are expected to increase. With price increases in commodities like sugar and cocoa, retailers such as Sobeys are seeing significant price hikes from suppliers, impacting customers.
Consumers are becoming more aware of disruptions in the food supply chain as food prices continue to rise. People are paying more attention to prices and how their food is produced, with a growing interest in understanding where their food comes from. Cocoa, in particular, has become a focus for consumers, with attention being paid to the impact of cocoa farming on the environment. Large swaths of rainforest in West Africa have been cleared for cocoa farming, reducing ecological diversity. Higher commodity futures do not necessarily impact the prices farmers are paid in real-time, with governments in large cocoa-producing countries setting minimum prices for farmers.
There is hope that higher futures prices for cocoa will lead to increased income for farmers, but it is not guaranteed. Cocoa prices are cyclical, so there may be a price crash at some point. Consumers looking to make ethical spending decisions face a challenge due to the price gap between premium and ethically sourced chocolate and mass-market products. Shoppers can educate themselves and seek transparency in the supply chain by checking the origin of cocoa in a product. Those who can afford to spend more can support businesses that specialize in ethically sourced cocoa products. In the long term, there is potential for cocoa to be grown more sustainably, but it may result in lower production in the short term, with the discussion surrounding who should bear the cost of this transition.
