The world could be heading toward a shortage of chocolate

By TIME
By TIME
Men pour out cocoa beans to dry in Niable
Men pour out cocoa beans to dry in Niable, at the border between Ivory Coast and Ghana, June 19, 2014. Picture taken June 19, 2014. To match Insight GHANA-IVORYCOAST/COCOA REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon (IVORY COAST - Tags: BUSINESS AGRICULTURE FOOD) - RTR40EBH
Photograph by Thierry Gouegnon — Reuters

This post is in partnership with Time. The article below was originally published at Time.com.

By Helen Ragan, TIME

Mars, Inc. and Swiss-based chocolate giant Barry Callebaut say demand is likely to outstrip production by one million metric tons by 2020, the Washington Post reports.

Seventy percent of the world’s cocoa is produced in the Ivory Cost and Ghana but growing conditions in West Africa have not been ideal.


Drought has ravaged many cocoa plantations and a fungal disease called frosty pod has wiped out between 30 to 40 percent of cocoa production. Farmers are looking to other cash-crops such as corn, to make their living.

At the same time, demand for the tasty treat keeps rising and this is likely to force the price of chocolate to rise.

[Washington Post]