Chocolate Economy
It's amazing, when you stop to think about the details of chocolate production, that chocolate -even terrific, gourmet chocolate-costs so little. Here we have an agricultural product that grows best in the secluded lower growth of a diversified forest, that grows only 18-20 degrees on either side of the equator, has a successful fruiting rate of approximately three out of every 1,000 pollinated flowers and must be harvested and fermented by hand before being shipped off to undergo a half-dozen more processes by both man and machine. There was a time when a scant handful of cacao beans could buy a human slave: now, we can pick up a chocolate bar for the equivalent of 30 minutes' work at the local fast food joint.
Chocolate-A Bad Seed or a Piece of Cake?
Depending on who you talk to, the economic outlook for the chocolate industry is either very good or extremely precarious. The outlook for the individual consumer is terrific: we've never had as many options when it comes to gourmet, single source, organic and fair trade chocolates. The range of available chocolate extends from the milkiest of white chocolates to the sleekest, strongest of dark, with fillings of exotic fruits, nuts, liqueurs and spices. Even Big Chocolate has bowed to the consumers' increasing desire for new and unusual chocolates-Hershey's purchase of Scharffenberger is one example of a huge company recognizing the strength of a fine and desirable product, created by a company that started out small scale and highly personal-the Scharffenberger folks visited countries like Venezuela and Ecuador to meet the growers of the beans they purchased.
Gourmet chocolate companies are working at educating the public-notable the British and American public about the difference between chocolate as we grew up with it (milky, light, cheap and super-sweet) and chocolate as chocolate connoisseurs love it-milk-free, dark as a moonless night, a bit more expensive and deeply flavorful. With the public's new appreciation of fine chocolate has come the recognition that the people who farm chocolate have too often received the short end of the economic stick: fair trade chocolate is growing more common by the day, with even the largest chocolate companies recognizing the need for education and support among the 5-6 million people who farm this most lucrative product.
Around 70% of the world's cacao is grown in Africa, with the Ivory Coast being the largest producer, followed by Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The people of these countries, beset by poverty, social unrest and lack of health and education resources, have until recently farmed cacao with little remuneration and even less potential for economic success. Recent advances in socially just buying practices have brought the cacao farmers more money for their product, along with increased education in farming and fermentation techniques. Assuming that land use and tenure is protected, farmers will be less likely to clear cut land for planting cacao when they learn that it lessens the viability and value of the crop.
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How Chocolate is made