Growth has slowed in many regions and several sectors, particularly those buffeted by wars and economic slowdowns. Still, all signs suggest it’s just a matter of taking a deep breath before innovative new products spur a resurgence.
What a difference a year makes. Actually, it wasn’t even quite that long ago when headlines screamed about an impending cocoa shortage. A surge in chocolate demand in Asia coupled with worrisome weather concerns about cocoa harvests in West Africa had cocoa buyers on edge. The Ebola epidemic in Liberia and Sierra Leone only exacerbated the situation.
Flash forward to mid-May 2015 and the headline from Dow Jones Business News declared, “Asia Loses Its Sweet Tooth for Chocolate.” According to reporter Julie Wernau, “Slowing economic growth and higher candy prices have dulled the region’s demand for cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, and upended bets by investors, traders and big food companies after a surge in consumption in the past decade.”