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Please enjoy yourself with chocolate as much as you can for now because by the year 2050 or in the next 27 years, chocolate will be extinct from our earth and we cannot eat it anymore! This is because of global warming that is gradually becoming more and more serious.
Did you know that chocolate used to be a luxury menu with an expensive price for upper class people only. Later, it became more popular in growing and it made a lot of people from all over the world love chocolate till these days. However, in the near future, this delicious chocolate may have a rise in price again because of the higher costs which is the effect from global warming.
Cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate making, is a plant that is very sensitive to weather. If the weather is too humid or dry, it will affect the amount of production and cause a raise in cocoa prices. According to CNBC, the price of cocoa powder reached its highest level in seven years at USD 3,160 or about THB 109,000 per ton on 10 July 2023. Sergey Chevertakov, a research analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights, also predicted that the price of cocoa beans could reach USD 3,600 per ton.
The world’s largest cacao growing area is in the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, known as Ivory Coast and Ghana in West Africa which accounts for more than 60% of global cocoa production. In Asia, Indonesia is the country where cacao is grown the most. These three countries have a good climate and soil for cacao cultivation.
However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that by 2050, or about 28 years from now, the temperatures all over the world will rise, and the temperature will rise around 3.8 degrees in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. At that time, the El Nino phenomenon will cause less rain in Africa, which will also reduce moisture and nitrogen in the soil, thus reducing cacao production from Africa as well.
In recent years, European countries have sought ways to genetically modify cacao to be more tolerant to climate change. If this technology is successful, it can be used to correct other endangered crops and alleviate global food shortages caused by drought and global warming as well.
Nevertheless, the main reason we’re overlooking is global warming which is increasing every year. Perhaps another way to save the planet is to focus more on environmental conservation, so that cacao can grow back and produce as productive as it should be.
