Valentine’s Day chocolate prices highest in years amid cocoa shortage
Cocoa prices soared to all-time highs last week as deteriorating weather conditions and disease challenges hammered crop yields in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, home to 60% of the world’s production. Cocoa futures have surged nearly 40% since the start of the year to notch an intraday all-time high of $5,874 per metric ton Thursday. Prices of chocolates rose 11% in the past year, according to consumer intelligence database NielsenIQ, using data compiled through Jan. 27.