World: Chocolate crisis is coming

Consumers may begin to see the impact of rising cocoa prices as the world faces its biggest supply deficit in decades as farmers in West Africa struggle with bad weather, disease and dying trees. Cocoa for May delivery closed 0.3 percent lower at $9,622 per tonne, after rising to an all-time high of $10,080 per tonne on Tuesday. The cost of cocoa more than tripled last year and will rise 129 percent in 2024. Hershey CEO Michele Buck told CNBC last month that the company has a hedging strategy to manage price fluctuations. The industry is working with retailers to "lower costs" and keep chocolate affordable for consumers, the U.S. National Confectioners Association said in an email. COCOA SUPPLY GAP IS LARGE Paul Joules, a commodities analyst at Rabobank, said that although the big chocolate companies were well protected last year and did not have to immediately pass on higher prices to consumers, there was only so much the industry could do to absorb the costs. Joules noted that ...