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Cocoa crisis: Climate change threat to chocolate laid bare in new report ahead of Valentine’s DayCocoa prices have risen 400% in recent years as study shows climate change made 2023 heatwave in West Africa 10 times more likely.
British chocolatiers feeling the heat: “It’s a nightmare, I don’t think any business involved in chocolate has avoided this impact, and it’s all down to climate change.” – Andy Soden, Kernow Chocolate
In 2024, human-caused climate change added 6 weeks’ worth of days above 32°C in 71% of cacao-producing areas across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria – temperatures too hot for cocoa growing.
Christian Aid is warning chocolate and the livelihoods that depend on it are at risk and is calling for action to cut emissions and target climate finance going to cocoa growers to help them adapt.
Our Valentine’s Day box of chocolates is under threat due to extreme weather in the world’s key cocoa growing regions leading to spiking cocoa prices and an uncertain future for cocoa growers.A new report by the international development charity Christian Aid shows rising temperatures and erratic rainfall has hammered cocoa harvests in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where more than 50% of global cocoa is grown. This has slashed the availability of cocoa on the global markets, seeing prices soar in the UK and around the world to record highs in recent years – and the size of our chocolate bars shrink.The report, Cocoa crisis: How chocolate is feeling the bite of climate change, coincides with new data from research group Climate Central which shows that over the past decade climate change added at least three weeks above 32°C (89.6°F) annually during the main cacao crop season (October-March) in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Such temperatures are above the optimal temperature range for cacao trees.In 2024 alone, human-caused climate change added six weeks’ worth of days above 32°C in 71% of cacao-producing areas across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria.Some of the UK’s favourite chocolate companies are now feeling the pinch from the cocoa crisis, as well as global confectionary giant Nestle, who have spoken out on the threat posed by climate change.According to the charity’s study, this year’s cocoa shortage follows a similar crash in production last year which saw cocoa prices rise 400% to $12,218 a ton after droughts, floods and climate-related diseases hit cocoa farmers last year. On 18 December 2024, a new record was set at $12,605 per ton and prices have remained stubbornly high ever since.The cocoa shortage started in 2023, after unexpectedly heavy rainfall during Ghana’s dry season. Total precipitation in West Africa was more than double the 30-year average for the time of year and the wet conditions caused plants to rot with black pod disease. This was followed by severe drought in 2024. The UN said that Ghana’s 2024 drough