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The crop often gets infected with a fungal black pod disease. Despite efforts to counter its spread with fungicide, this year’s crop looks likely to be pitiful, affecting the income of the farmers
Cocoa farmers across West Africa are monitoring the progress of several plant diseases that are ruining crops on a vast scale and pushing up the global price of cacao, which is the main raw material for making chocolate. The price of cocoa is reaching dizzy heights in the international market.
Ivory Coast and its neighbour Ghana are the main producers of cocoa and supply more than half of the world’s demand for cocoa. The crop often gets infected with a fungal black pod disease. Despite efforts to counter its spread with fungicide, this year’s crop looks likely to be pitiful, affecting the income of the farmers.
The cocoa season began in October 2023. It will draw to a close at the end of March. Farmers in major cocoa regions claim this year’s crop is devastated by the spread of fungal black pod disease, which gets spread during soggy weather.
Another major problem in Ghana and the Ivory Coast is the cocoa swollen shoot virus, spread by insects. It is usually dealt with by cutting down infected trees entirely. The wet conditions in West Africa are being blamed for damaging crop yields, which is pushing cacao prices higher.
The global cocoa and chocolate market is expected to grow from a value of USD 48 billion in 2022 to nearly USD 68 billion by 2029, according to analysts at Fortune Business Insights.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/global-cocoa-prices-hit-the-roof/
https://trendsnafrica.com/ghanas-cocoa-processing-units-stares-at-acute-bean-shortage/
Farmers and representatives from farming collectives are gathering in Abidjan to talk with trade union leaders about what can be done to help them. The drop in production will have long-term repercussions on the international chocolate market, according to industry experts. The demand for chocolate is growing, especially in Asia. As global supply is dropping, prices are expected to remain high.
