Surging gold prices send shockwaves through the chocolate market

With bullion up over 40 per cent in the past year to about $3,700 (£2,700) an ounce, many farmers are abandoning cocoa for gold.

Chocolate prices are hitting record highs amid a cocoa shortfall across West Africa. In Ghana – the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d’Ivoire – output fell by over 20 per cent last year due to adverse weather conditions and pest outbreaks.

Illegal gold mining – also known as galamsey – is aggravating the problem by destroying farmland, contaminating water, and displacing local farmers from cocoa land.

In 2022, Ghana’s Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) reported that more than 80 per cent of cocoa farms in the Eastern region had been affected by mining, which had a knock-on effect on chocolate prices of around 20 per cent.

With bullion up over 40 per ce