Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent
Chocolate prices are skyrocketing worldwide, dishing up a sweet punch to consumers from New York to London. Chocolate confectionery prices in the United States continue to surge, with increases above 10% over the last year, a sign of larger inflationary forces at work in food products. In the United Kingdom, government data shows that the price of chocolate increased at a record level in May– a sign that food prices in general were soaring. Thousands of miles away from the aisles of every Western supermarket, the shockwave of this crisis is felt on cocoa farms in West Africa. It’s a struggle for survival. Farmers in major cocoa producing countries— including those in Ghana and Ivory Coast—are the first to feel the effects. Their hardship echoes from the dusty plantations of Soubré to the remote villages of the Western region of Ghana.
An Expensive Treat Globally
The rising cost of chocolate bars in a leading, otherwise-saturated economy is an indicator of unprecedented, tumultuous undercurrents taking root in the global marketplace. Families across the world are feeling the squeeze as a once affordable staple turns into an unattainable luxury. This trend is a sadly predictable outcome of broken supply chains and drastically less production from the very gardens and fields that, for decades, have kept the world’s collective sweet tooth satiated.
The widespread effect is equally as impressive, impacting all aspects of the cocoa value chain from bean to bar. This goes far beyond inflation; it’s a wake-up call.
Ghana’s and Ivory Coast Struggle for Survival
Ghana and Ivory Coast are the undisputed titans of cocoa – together, these two nations produce well over half of the world’s supply. Jonathan Parkman, head of agriculture at Marex, a London-based commodities broker, noted that, “These two countries produce well over half of all the cocoa in the world.” He highlighted severe challenges beyond extreme weather, noting that “problems in Ghana and Ivory Coast also included long-term government mismanagement of the cocoa sector and a surge in disease.”
This devastating triple threat of climate change, governance issues, and disastrous agricultural pestilence has ravaged crops. Ghana, which had targeted 800,000 metric tons for the 2023 and 2024 season, is now projected to harvest barely 500,000 metric tons under these combined forces. This significant downturn not only affects global supply, it creates overwhelming strain on Ghana’s national economy, which is disproportionately dependent on cocoa for foreign exchange earnings. Parkman provided a stark prognosis: “There is little chance of a fall in chocolate prices this side of Christmas.” For West Africa’s cocoa heartland, this is an existential threat.
The Farmer’s Enduring Plight
For the millions of Ghanaian smallholder farmers, the global price boom is a sour irony. These brave farmers, the backbone of the cocoa industry, usually toil under horrendous, tough conditions. Their livelihoods depend on a rich harvest. However, Unpredictable rainfalls, extended drought heightened by climate factors like El Niño disrupts like prospects.
The rapid onset of diseases such as the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) also destroys their plantations. The CSSVD alone has wiped out millions of trees, with some estimates suggesting up to 40% of Ghana’s cocoa farms hit or under threat. The majority of cocoa farmers in Ghana earn less than $2 a day (approximately 20.60
Ghana Cedis), far below what is considered the threshold of a living income, considering their significant contribution to a multi-billion-dollar global supply chain. This is not just poverty; it is injustice.
Osei is a Ghanaian smallholder farmer from the Western region. For decades, his family has grown cocoa on his land. These days, he can only stand by and watch helplessly as the virus makes his trees wither away, transforming vibrant green seed pods into brittle brown husks. Though his expression was obscured by the mask, Osei’s grief and disappointment could be heard in his voice as he told me, “It’s just devastating—just really, really, painful.”
“We work so hard, but our crops shrink in productivity every year. The prices continue to rise in the city, but here in this village, all we feel is our future diminishing.”
His kids—who usually pitch in during harvest season—now face an uncertain school year. “How do I pay for their books, their uniforms, if the pods are empty? And the prescription for my wife?” Osei asks himself, looking at his stunted trees. This, as he acknowledged not having the money to buy the pesticides needed or replace seedlings.
Farmers like Osei typically receive only a meager fraction, estimated at less than 7% on average, of the final chocolate price on average.
This grim disconnect suggests record-high retail prices do not automatically translate into better incomes for those who grow the precious beans. Their everyday reality is that of a fragile survival, battling Mother Earth’s wrath and the vulnerable infrastructure that has neglected them for far too long. The lack of decent wages still drives our
farmers deeper into poverty, preventing them from investing in sustainable practices or fighting disease in any meaningful way. Their battle should be Ghanaians collective call to action.
Investing in Cocoa Farmers
The crisis demands a fair, empathetic approach. It should be focused on the effects on consumers, but most importantly the focus should be on the cocoa farmers. Eradicating the root causes requires continued investment in climate-resilient farming, robust disease control, and genuinely equitable trade practices. The government of
Ghana faces the challenges of enacting reforms that effectively support its farmers—from improved pricing mechanisms to replant support. Even with programs like mass spraying and large-scale rehabilitation, COCOBOD, Ghana’s cocoa regulator has worked aggressively to implement at this scale. But, the extent of the challenge remains massive, and international assistance will be key.
Chocolate companies and buyers, most of whom are international and typically earn billions in profit, bear a huge responsibility here to make fair prices and sustainable practices reach the very foundation of their supply chain, where all the chocolate grows.
The drum is beating louder for a “living income differential” for farmers, so that they can receive enough to meet their basic needs and rise above the level of mere survival. This is not just a feel-good approach, though — it’s a chance to create a more inclusive, resilient, ethical supply chain. The sweet fate of our chocolate and the dignity of millions around the world depend on these collective efforts and a continued dedication to advocating for fairness in the cocoa industry. The time for change is right now. Someday, perhaps, the world’s sweet tooth will lead to a sweeter life for the farmers who grow its most important ingredient.
