The world is running out of chocolate!

We regret to bring you such bad news and we know how much this will affect chocolate lovers, but it is a reality, chocolate is running out in the world. The problem is very simple, we consume more chocolate than we are capable of producing. In 2013, 70 thousand tons were consumed, which means more than what was produced in the year, so two of the largest chocolate industries on the planet, Mars, Inc. and Barry Callebau, claim that by 2020 this figure could increase up to 14 times. This cocoa deficit has been the most significant in 50 years and over time it is only getting worse. According to The Washington Post, the consequences of this conflict will gradually become apparent. To begin with, it is very likely that the price of chocolate will increase and that cocoa will be mixed with different ingredients such as vegetable fats and other chemicals to obtain sufficient chocolate supplies. Another option to keep costs stable would be to reduce the size of the presentations or add nuts, nougats, or different fillings, so that the necessary amount of cocoa decreases. It is evident that drought, climate change, and some diseases that naturally attack the plant cause impacts on production, but the conflict mainly lies in the characteristics of cocoa itself. Farmers face the challenge of correctly selecting the strains they will plant since each tree takes at least two years to bear fruit, this not only makes production very slow but complicates the genetic selection process of high-yield trees capable of resisting diseases and producing cocoa with a pleasant flavor. As noted by The Atlantic, in the face of this shortage farmers are betting on new cocoa varieties, such as CCN51 which produces almost seven times more seeds than Ecuadorian trees and is also resistant to a disease called Witches' broom, however, its flavor is not very good as it has been described as very bitter, astringent, and acidic. There is another variety that promises to be better, these strains are called R-1, R-4, and R-6, they can also produce seven times more cocoa, but best of all is that their flavor is very good, even R-4 and R-6 won at the International Cocoa Awards at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, the former for its fruity and sweet notes and the latter for its nutty and woody notes. These new strains could help somewhat counteract the problem, however, harvesting some wonderful plantations will not stop chocolate-devouring lovers, so perhaps in the future we will have to suffer the consequences, can science save us? See original note