The global confectionery industry is facing serious challenges due to the deteriorating situation in the cocoa market, which is a key component in the production of chocolate. Ghana, one of the world's top cocoa producers, plans to cut next season's supply by 350,000 tonnes due to poor harvests. This decision will further worsen the situation in the industry, reports TSN.

Cocoa prices have already jumped 100% after a third year of poor harvests in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together produce 60% of the world's cocoa beans. This has led to the fact that chocolate manufacturers are forced to raise the prices of their products.

Ghana was previously expected to export about 250,000 tonnes of cocoa, half of its current crop. However, Coffeebod, Ghana's cocoa regulatory body, has indicated that the country intends to increase production, although this will not happen as much as expected.

Poor weather conditions, cocoa bean diseases and illegal gold mining, which often leads to the destruction of cocoa farms, have contributed to poor harvests in Ghana. Farmers are increasingly forced to smuggle cocoa beans to neighboring countries, where they are sold at prices that exceed government purchase prices.

This development is prompting confectionary manufacturers to consider alternative sources or scale down production in order to maintain reasonable prices in the market. For consumers, this may mean a further increase in the cost of chocolate products, which are popular in many countries around the world.

The high dependence on cocoa from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire highlights the vulnerability of the confectionery industry to natural and economic factors that could seriously affect the stability of the global chocolate market in the future.