Chocolate becoming a scarce, luxury product

Kamamura

I don't know how's the situation in America (which may be closer to some producer states), but here in Europe, the plain old chocolate has been all but displaced by all kinds of "filled bars", fruit whatnots and cheap substitutes of all kinds.

To avoid misunderstandings, I consider true chocolate only a product that is based on true cocoa butter (not hydrogenated oil, or some vegetable oil base), cocoa powder, and sugar. True, it can be obtained, but what was before plain chocolate is now "super-duper bio product" twice or three times the former price.

When I read that cocoa beans price has grown almost 200% during the last three years, I guess those news did not lie.

The same applies for marine fish... and quality hardwood... and genuine (not faked) olive oil... and lotsa other stuff.

The illusion of economic "growth" is achieved by replacing solid, genuine products with fake substitutes and cardboard props. How sad.

Align

Maybe it's because China is consuming more luxury stuff? More demand, less supply.

Evil_bOb1

Or genuine products like you call them have been replaced in the fields by other commercial crops like palm or maize. Less supply, higher prices. I do some woodworking myself (models/furniture/toys) and the problem there is that old growth is becoming rarer and most of the supply is delivered by managed forests where trees are cut right when they can be commercialized, resulting in younger woods. But if you know where to look you can find very good quality woods lying around in people's property. So you just got to ask the right people sometimes they want to get rid of stock. Fishes have been greatly over harvested and the natural reserve is low. All this is the result of poor resource management. Everybody takes more than they need and does not give back to nature. A lot is going to waste. Capitalism is too greedy and the planet cannot sustain such vain mentality. Prices are only going to get higher and quality products rarer. If you want good stuff, you have to make it yourself or connect with someone of trust who does honest work.

Rob

I don't understand this jump from over use to capitalism being at fault. Humanity is at fault. Do you think we were somehow more noble and would refuse as a matter of honor to raze the landscape at any point in our past before any concept of capitalism and free markets existed? Do you think any other mammal actually has some instinctive equilibrium point? They clearly do not. They consume in excess until the environment can't sustain them and then there is a major dying event.

There is no single reason why goods increase in price or become more rare. To approach the problem with that mindset is to deny nature the respect it deserves for being so complex and downright amazing.

But to just blame capitalism or free markets, which are designed precisely to channel these scarce and precious resources to where they are needed most, is a different kind of short sighted entirely.

ScardyBob

Its more likely that people are bored with your standard chocolate flavor and are interested in more variety. I've noticed move dark chocolate products in the U.S. (where milk chocolate is the most common form of chocolate).