Chocolate prices are soaring due to unexpected factor: 'Something that was seen 200 years ago'

Chocolatiers in England have explained why the unstable climate has made business less sweet than usual.

What's happening?

Kate Rumsey, owner of Rumsey's Chocolaterie in Thame, Oxfordshire, told the BBC that cocoa prices have been increasing significantly, with rising global temperatures and crop decimation among the reasons for this unsustainable pattern.

"I don't really think I've known times to be as tough as they are at the moment," Rumsey said.

"... I wonder what [Thame] High Street will look like in a year's time. Hopefully we'll still be here ... but it's a tricky time."

One particular chocolate variety Rumsey used to buy cost £4,500 a tonne. With suppliers experiencing lower yields, the cost has nearly tripled to £13,000 a tonne.

But Rumsey isn't alone. Johnny Baxter from Dorset Chocolate in Sturminster Newton, Dorset, has had to adapt recipes to cut prices for customers. While that has led to some "exciting" new products, with fruit especially being increasingly utilized, Baxter is concerned about the direction the market is going. 

"[Chocolate] will become a premium product — and that really goes back to something that was seen 200 years ago when cocoa was a very exclusive taste," he said.

Ivory Coast is the world's biggest supplier of cocoa, but as Reuters reported, production has been disappointingly low for the last two years because of difficult growing conditions and disease in cocoa trees.

Why are soaring cocoa prices concerning?

For chocolate lovers, the increase in price will be difficult to stomach. Unfortunately, it's not the only staple crop that has been impacted by floods, droughts, and other extreme weather. The production of rice, olives, and wheat, among others, has all been problematic. 

This is pushing up grocery prices for consumers as growers increase costs to make up for crop shortfalls.

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Of course, this is troubling for shoppers when the price of everything seems to be going up. But for farmers, it is devastating. Coffee growers in Brazil, for example, are considering closing their businesses.

What can be done to protect global crop supply?

We can all make meaningful changes to reduce our personal production of planet-warming pollution that is warming the planet and making crop growth increasingly difficult.

Even being smarter about our groceries can make a difference. Making the most of leftovers will reduce food waste that's sent to landfills. According to Earth.org, food waste accounts for a third of all human-caused planet-warming gas pollution. 

If that's not enough motivation, you can also save money in the process. By reducing food waste by 10%, you can save $75 a year.

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