Less than a year ago, it seem chocolate’s future teetered on the brink of extinction, a series of apocalyptic and man-made events, ranging from the Ebola epidemic to rainfall shortages, from unabated demand for chocolate in China to a lack of youngsters willing to be cocoa farmers, dooming it to shortages and luxury pricing.
Well, almost midway into 2015, the mood has improved slightly. First, the Ebola epidemic, thankfully, seems to be under control. Secondly, weather conditions and harvest estimates for the Ivory Coast and Ghana, although always under revision, aren’t as bleak as once thought. Nonetheless, demand for chocolate in China and Asia overall still remains strong, and keeping the younger generation on the cocoa farms poses a continuous challenge.