Are you a coffee, cocoa or tea lover? In that case, we have bad news for you. In the coming months, be prepared for the prices of these foods to rise significantly. What is the cause of this and are there valid reasons for it, or do traders with exotic raw materials want to “extract” more money from us again?
Food prices on the world market are influenced by several important factors. This can be, for example, demand and supply, natural conditions, production costs, transport costs, exchange rates, political events or changes in society. All of these factors can interact and lead to significant price changes. However, with the mentioned commodities, it is something a little different…
Would you like coffee, tea or cocoa?
In the case of the above-mentioned foods, this is a problem that is mainly related to climate change. In the last year, West African countries in particular have been struggling with by great torrential rains and strong winds, which bring with them dust and putrid disease, which attacks cocoa beans. Said dust is a much bigger problem than it might seem at first glance. This is because it covers the crowns of plants, the fruits of which do not get natural sunlight. “Especially for cocoa, climate change has a big impact. Traditional growers have serious problems with being able to cover the world’s consumption. The lack of cocoa is then reflected in a jump in price,” added Křeček. Global problems did not escape coffee and tea growers either, because plantations are increasingly becoming less resistant to diseases and various pests. For this reason, there is again less production and a subsequent rise in prices.
Thanks global warming and the constant cutting down of tropical rainforests there are significant changes that are responsible for greater crop failures and thus also for the increase in the prices of these commodities. In addition, these crops are mainly grown in the developing countries of the so-called Third World. In these countries, the pressure to improve the working conditions for workers in the fields has also increased recently. “There is a lot of pressure from Europe and other countries for workers on plantations to receive better wages for their work, for children not to work there, or for commodities to be produced as ecologically as possible. This is also reflected in food prices,” added agricultural analyst Havel. From this point of view, we can expect an increase in the price of other tropical crops grown here, by up to 10%.
The end of the famous chocolate factories?
They are the most affected chocolate manufacturers. In recent years, the demand for quality cocoa in particular has increased significantly. Unfortunately in combination high crop failures cocoa with the protection of local workers and an increase in their wages, the price of one bar of chocolate will have to increase as well. The cost of buying cocoa beans this year increased by up to 150%. In addition, the price of another raw material needed for the production of chocolate – white sugar – also increased. International chocolatiers have let it be known that the price of one bar will have to rise by several percent. One of these companies is Heshey.Co, an American multinational candy company, which claims that the price of cocoa has already risen so much that it will have to raise the price of its candy for the first time in mid-2023.
