Bitter sweet: Ebola could affect chocolate prices
Travel restrictions and quarantines in West Africa could be chocking the world’s cocoa supply, and ultimately raising the global price of chocolate.
AS South Africans sigh with relief following the false Ebola scare at Addington Hospital earlier this week, world experts are raising another concern regarding the dreaded pandemic and international cocoa bean supplies. Soon it may be more expensive to buy chocolate than filling up one’s petrol tank, as the beans are a key ingredient in chocolate.
The West African nations, which are responsible for more than 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa bean supplies, have been hardest hit by the outbreak. All but 10 of the reported 5 000 deaths have been in the countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ivory Coast and Ghana, which neighbours these severely affected countries, produces more than 55 per cent of the total global supply, according to the International Cocoa Organization. Both nations have sealed their borders, preventing any human traffic from the Ebola-affected countries.
While the travel restrictions might prevent the spread of the disease it could also be hindering the supply. Many of the workers who harvest cocoa in the Ivory Coast are migrants from Liberia and Guinea, but now they are unable to reach the fields – and harvest season began in October.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that a lot of the cocoa plants are grown on tiny plots and sold to middlemen, who travel from farm to farm collecting the crops for export. The travel restrictions and quarantines used to contain the pandemic could therefore isolate millions of farmers and chocking the world’s cocoa supply – ultimately increasing the price of the beloved sweet treat.
