This year's Easter eggs will be much more expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather patterns have made growing cocoa more challenging. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. 70 per cent the world's cocoa beans are grown West Africa. Recent heatwaves, droughts and heavy rain Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the amount cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been four degrees higher than normal. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than doubled compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate analyst, said farmers West Africa were, "struggling the face both extreme heat and rainfall".
Chocolate eggs are given as gifts the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection Jesus. Traditionally, people dyed and painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared the court Louis XIV France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced the first hollow chocolate egg, similar to the ones people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving chocolate eggs is now commonplace, 80 million Easter eggs sold the UK alone." However, climate change is making it more difficult to grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady supply cocoa and chocolate.
