The worsening cocoa crisis is affecting many people across the globe. Due to cocoa shortages, chocolate products are becoming increasingly expensive. But why are cocoa supplies experiencing scarcity? Tony's Chocolonely CEO provided a possible answer. 

Cocoa Crisis Update: Tony's CEO Blames Long-Term Underpayment of Farmers

Tony's Chocolonely CEO Douglas Lamont said that the long-term underpayment of farmers in key growers has worsened the cocoa crisis.

Douglas said this during an interview: The long-term underpayments by the agriculture industry for farmers are accentuating the cocoa supply issues.

"This short-term crisis is a real wake-up call for everybody to make sure that we support farmers to invest in productivity over the long term," he explained via Yahoo Finance.

Cocoa is a key ingredient in chocolate products. For the last four months, shortages have made this ingredient super expensive, leading to higher prices of chocolates.

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Cocoa Prices Drastically Drop

Despite the ongoing shortages, cocoa prices are somehow declining. Earlier in 2024, cocoa's record hit $11,722 per metric ton. This dropped to around $7,175, as reported by CNBC.

But, on Monday, May 13, cocoa prices drastically dropped by 19%, trading at around $1,700 per metric ton. This is considered the biggest price drop in one day for the ingredient since the 1980s.

Despite the 19% price drop, experts said that the current cocoa prices are up by nearly 70% year to date. Aside from these, the costs have also been 137% over the last 12 months.

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