African cocoa plants run out of beans as global chocolate crisis deepens
Long the world's undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60% of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season. Expectations of shortages of cocoa beans - the raw material for chocolate - have seen New York cocoa futures more than double this year alone. They have hit fresh record highs almost daily in an unprecedented trend that shows little sign of abating.