More Chocolate Demand, Less Cocoa Production
FOOD SNAPSHOT
Consumers around the globe are eating more chocolate thanks to the reported health benefits of dark chocolate and the growing ranks of middle-class consumers in China, India, and other countries who are gobbling up Western-style goods.
But there is not an unlimited supply of the popular confection and demand may be on the verge of outpacing cocoa production.
The International Cocoa Organization predicts a supply deficit of about 17,000 tons in the current 2014/2015 cocoa year. Global cocoa bean production is expected to decrease by nearly 3% to 4.232 million tons and grindings are forecast to decrease by 1.7% to 4.207 million tons. Thus, current year stocks of cocoa beans would stand at 1.609 million tons, down from stocks of 1.626 million tons in the prior season.
Infographic source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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