A month ago, we reported on the difficulties involved with cocoa growing and are now able to give you an update.

In the UK, chocolate prices have increased more dramatically than any other commodity in the past 12 months. In the first two months of the year they shot up by more than 40 per cent. On February 27th, prices reached a 40-year high.

Behind the spike is a complex brew of climate change and global demand. Ghana and Ivory Coast – where 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa comes from – have been hit by hotter, drier weather which has impacted the cocoa harvest. Meanwhile, two major diseases have spread through the crop. Experts predict cocoa production will fall by 20 per cent this year, pushing down the global supply and inevitably pushing prices up.

Please pray for all those involved with cocoa growing and marketing in this business.