The Daily Brief Is this the End of Cheap Chocolate?
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Jul 14, 2025 The podcast delves into the looming cocoa supply crisis driven by climate change, threatening the chocolate industry and global food systems. It highlights the economic struggles of small farmers facing harsh conditions. The discussion shifts to a troubling insider trading scandal involving market manipulation and unethical practices. Additionally, the show analyzes trends in India's insurance market and challenges in the auto sector, spurred by rare earth export restrictions from China, along with notable leadership changes in major corporations.
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Global Cocoa Crisis and Climate Change
- The global cocoa supply is collapsing, causing a severe cocoa crisis with a 13% production drop and a nearly 500,000 ton shortfall.
- Climate change is the root cause, making cocoa farming regions hotter and less suitable, threatening food security worldwide.
Cocoa Trees' Climate Sensitivity
- Cocoa trees require a narrow temperature range of 18 to 32 degrees Celsius and are highly sensitive to heat and rainfall changes.
- Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall in West Africa are reducing cocoa yields and may render regions unsuitable for cocoa by 2050.
Climate Change Spurs Cocoa Diseases
- Climate change also encourages crop diseases like black pod and cacao swollen shoot virus, which devastate cocoa yields.
- Ghana runs a massive disease eradication program to combat these climate-induced agric threats.