Sustainability Issues in the Cocoa and Chocolate Industry: Building a Promising Future for a Beleaguered Industry

Abstract

The chapter explores the problems that are currently plaguing the cocoa and chocolate industry. Cocoa prices have more than doubled recently, scaling numerous all-time highs. Soaring cocoa prices, as a result of inadequate supplies, have sent the industry into turmoil, with some chocolate manufacturers being driven to their wits’ end. The crisis has been triggered by low yields, especially from West Africa, where the bulk of cocoa is grown. A combination of factors including poor weather that diminished the harvest, aging cocoa trees producing fewer, less healthy pods, market dynamics heavily influenced by speculators and other industry-specific issues are leading to severe challenges within the industry, at the same time as demand for cocoa continues to grow. The chapter whilst shoring up the problems in the industry also proffers a means by which solutions could be found to the myriad of issues still plaguing it. It calls on industry stakeholders to pivot towards long-term sustainability and resilience, whilst urging them to act together to reverse the human and environmental failings of the industry.