We’re Heading for a Chocolate Crisis
Chocolate is made from cocoa and we’re eating more chocolate than is sustainable. More middle-class consumers with higher incomes are buying chocolate, and political turmoil in West Africa where most cocoa is grown, is limiting production. But as chocolate and cocoa prices rise, production increases.—ZME Science
What happened to the quantity of cocoa produced and its price?
This table provides an answer.
Between 2018 and 2021, the quantity of cocoa produced increased from 4.6 million tons a year to 4.8 million tons a year. During the same period, the price of cocoa rose from $1,800 a ton to $2,800 a ton.
Does the news clip imply that the supply of cocoa is elastic or inelastic?
Two things in the news clip suggest that the supply of cocoa is inelastic: We’re eating more than is sustainable, and problems in West Africa are limiting production.
If the data for 2018 and 2021 are two points on the supply curve of cocoa, what is the elasticity of supply? Is the supply elastic, inelastic, or unit elastic?
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