Harvard Professor Carla Martin on the Cocoa Crisis

The growing cocoa deficit is affecting farmers, supply chains, and consumers.

Carla Martin | photo by harvard magazine

Why have chocolate prices surged since before Valentine's Day, hitting an all time high around Easter? Some analysts have predicted that cocoa may reach highs of $10,000 a ton in this historic period of inflation, growing in value at a rate faster than bitcoin.

 

Harvard Professor Carla Martin discusses the ongoing cocoa crisis affecting farmers, supply chains, and consumers, the historical and cultural trends underlying the production and sale of chocolate, and what the immediate commercial future of chocolate looks like. Martin is a Lecturer in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and is the Founder and Executive Director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute (FCCI). 

As the global cocoa shortfall continues, prices will be passed onto consumers until farmers are able to regain full yields.

Read more about Harvard African and African American Studies (AAAS): 

Read more about the science, culture, and history of chocolate:

Read more articles by Olivia Farrar
Related topics

You might also like

How AI Is Reshaping Supply Chains

Harvard Kennedy School lecturer on using AI to strengthen supply chains

This Astronomer is Sounding a Warning on ‘Space Junk’

As debris accumulates in low Earth orbit, the danger of destructive collisions continues to rise.

Understanding AI Vulnerabilities

As artificial intelligence capabilities evolve, so too will the tactics used to exploit them. 

Most popular

New Names Proposed for Harvard Extension School Degrees

Long pushed for, the changes would be part of a broader rebranding for the Division of Continuing Education.

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Collage of three photos of an athlete in a triathlon: one swimming, one cycling, one running, in sports attire.

The Harvard triathlete and coach says she helps normal people to “do extraordinary things.”

Black and white portrait of a woman with medium-length hair, smiling softly.

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.

A smiling man in a brown plaid suit stands outdoors with greenery in the background.

The professor and former Harvard College dean is the next president of Harvard Magazine’s Board of Directors