Cocoa prices in the US have surged by 40% since the start of the year due to environmental issues in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, the world's leading cocoa producers. The El Niño phenomenon has led to drier conditions in West Africa, where 60% of the world's cocoa is produced, contributing to the price increase. This has resulted in a 10% rise in US chocolate prices, three times the rate of inflation, and has negatively impacted major chocolate companies like Hershey, which reported an 11.5% decrease in Q4 2023 profits despite a slight sales increase.