Fed2 Star - the newsletter for the space trading game Federation 2

The weekly newsletter for Fed2
by ibgames

EARTHDATE: November 23, 2014

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REAL LIFE NEWS: IMPENDING CHOCOLATE SHORTAGE SENDS ME INTO A PANIC

By Hazed

Shocking news! We’re heading for a world chocolate shortage. Manufacturers Mars Inc. and the world’s largest producer or cocoa products, Barry Callebaut, have warned that consumer demand for chocolate will exceed cocoa supply by 2020.

Oh no! I’d better start stockpiling now.

“Disease, drought, rapacious new markets and the displacement of cacao by more-productive crops such as corn and rubber,” are all implicated in the cause of this predicted shortage, according to a report by Bloomberg.

However, it may not be all that bad. The International Cocoa Organization has disputed the report, saying that small deficits and surpluses in cocoa supply are normal and that they don’t predict anything out of the ordinary for the next five years.

The fact is that these scare stories about a famine of some commodity or food stuff at some point in the future rarely make any sense. They don’t pay any attention to market forces.

Even if the disease, drought, etc etc happen, what will happen is that the price of chocolate will go up, and that will depress demand. Then cacoa growers will do what they can to increase production, the shortage will be abated, and all will be well.

Still, I don’t need any excuse to buy lots of chocolate so maybe I will build myself stockpile!

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/11/17/chocolate-shortage-2020/19167089/
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/nov/18/save-our-chocolate-expert-tips-halt-cocoa-shortage
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/chocolate.asp

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