The amount of cocoa produced each year doesn't meet the demand and globally known chocolatiers fear there will eventually be a shortage.
If the saying, "Life is like a box of chocolates..." is true, then what happens if we run out of the sweet confection?
That's a problem currently facing two of the predominant chocolate manufacturers in the world, Mars, Inc. and Barry Callebaut AG.
Currently, the world consumes more chocolate than is produced. This is predicted to continue for the foreseeable future.
It's estimated that last year chocolate consumption outstripped production by 70,000 metric tons. It's feared that by 2020, that number could reach one million metric tons.
70 percent of the world's cocoa is produced in West Africa, a region that in recent times has suffered from droughts. A fungal disease known as frosty pod has decimated production in South America.
According to the International Cocoa Organization, 30 to 40 percent of the global cocoa population has been ruined due to this disease.
Currently new ways are being invented to help remedy this problem. This includes an agricultural research group in Central Africa working on creating trees capable of producing cocoa at seven times the normal rate.
It's feared that this quick process will produce less flavorful chocolate.
New strains of cacao are also being generated, specifically those resistant to fungal infections. The taste of this chocolate leaves something to be desired as well.
Until the world learns to eat less chocolate or figure out a better way to produce it, the cocoa supply remains threatened.
