Trouble grows as cocoa price spikes

Consumers may be unhappy with expensive chocolate but the explosion in the price of cocoa beans has affected more than just the price of Freddos. In Africa, government price caps have forced cocoa farmers from Ivory Coast to move across the border into Liberia in search of land, undermining EU deforestation law. In South America, countries like Ecuador are cashing in without hindrance from price caps but there are concerns about organised crime’s involvement as the industry expands. A rush to plant more may prove short-sighted anyway; it will be at least three years before trees planted will produce mature cocoa pods, and the price surge may subside.