Photo: Getty Images. A number of factors play into shrinking cocoa bean production, from global warming to agricultural practices and even Ebola, according to Grubstreet. That fall in productivity has been met with an increased demand for the crop, as global demand for chocolate continues to grow.
In response to these issues, cocoa prices have increased 40%, which has affected consumers with a slight rise in chocolate prices, as The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. But, if chocolate companies get their way, we won't all be rationing chocolate anytime soon.
That’s where the $1 billion investment comes in. Companies like Mondelez, which makes chocolate products like Cadbury bars and Oreos, are spending that money to increase crop yields. Their techniques include training courses for farmers and grafting new plants to older stumps, decreasing the amount of time it would make for a cocoa plant to produce pods.
While we're not panicking just yet, we might still stock up on a couple of our fave candy bars. We can't even begin to imagine a world without chocolate.
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