⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

Get Ready for the 'Achocolypse': The World Is Running Out of Chocolate The chocolate industry already can't keep up with how much we want to eat, and it's only getting worse.

By Kate Taylor

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Pixabay
Dark Chocolate

Today in horrifying news: the world is running out of chocolate.

Chocolate makers Mars and Barry Callebaut are anticipating chocolate shortages in coming years, reports The Washington Post. The industry already can't keep up with how much chocolate the world wants to eat – and it's only going to get worse.

Last year, the demand for chocolate was roughly 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than produced – a difference the industry expects to widen. In fact, by 2020, Mars and Barry Callebaut predict that we will want 1 million more metric tons of chocolate than the industry will be able to churn out. By 2030, the figure could swell to 2 million metric tons, the paper reports.

Why can't chocolate makers keep up the cocoa-hungry customers? Crops of cocoa have been suffering due to dry weather in West Africa, where most cocoa is produced, and a fungal disease that has wiped out around a third of global coca production. The problems are similar to the coffee industry, where a fungus threatens to drag down the global production of coffee by as much as 40 percent.

Related: What the Devastating Coffee Fungus Means for U.S. Coffee Shops

Increased demand has also played a role in potential shortages. With chocolate consumption increasing in countries like India and China, demand for cocoa beans in Asia has risen 29 percent over the last five years. Plus, the Washington Post says the rising popularity of dark chocolate means more cocoa is used per serving than ever before in the era of the milk chocolate bar.

The long-term future of chocolate looks even more treacherous. The chocolate industry relies primarily on small farms with increasingly elderly farmers and disease-prone aged trees. If the next generation wants to enjoy chocolate, a new generation of farmers is going to have to step up.

Already, chocolate makers are raising their prices. Hershey announced a price hike for the first time in three years in July, and the candy company's competitor Mars followed suit soon after.

Related: Hershey Raises Prices for First Time in 3 Years as Cocoa Costs Spike

Kate Taylor

Reporter

Kate Taylor is a reporter at Business Insider. She was previously a reporter at Entrepreneur. Get in touch with tips and feedback on Twitter at @Kate_H_Taylor. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Franchise

The Top Franchise Brands Growing Globally

While our main Fastest-Growing Franchises list focuses on North American growth, more and more brands are looking to grow worldwide. These are the 25 that had the greatest franchise growth outside the U.S. and Canada from July 2022 to July 2023.