World Chocolate Day, marked globally on 7 July, coincides this year with an industry grappling with the steepest cocoa-bean shortage in decades. Erratic weather linked to El Niño devastated harvests in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire—countries that together supply roughly 70 percent of the world’s cocoa—pushing futures to a record US$11,675 a tonne earlier in 2025. Contracts are still trading near US$8,100, keeping pressure on manufacturers and shoppers alike. The price shock is filtering rapidly into retail shelves. In Brazil, where the national statistics agency IBGE shows chocolate up 21.4 percent in the past 12 months—about four times the pace of inflation—manufacturers are shrinking portion sizes or adding biscuits and fillings to curb cocoa use. Similar tactics are appearing worldwide as Euromonitor projects global chocolate consumption to contract 1.2 percent this year even as the industry’s value holds around US$133.5 billion. Brazil remains a rare bright spot. Euromonitor expects sales volumes there to rise 2.9 percent to 385,800 tonnes in 2025, while revenue has climbed 128 percent since 2020. Industry analysts attribute the resilience to a cultural preference for small indulgences; units sold fell only 10 percent in the first quarter, and bars under 60 g actually gained ground. The government’s Plano Inova Cacau aims to double domestic bean production by 2030 to ease import dependence. Beyond prices, sustainability concerns are sharpening. Research cited on World Chocolate Day notes that producing a single kilogram of cocoa can require more than 20,000 litres of water, putting the crop squarely in global debates about resource use. Analysts warn that without swift adoption of climate-resilient farming and water-saving technologies, the confection often dubbed “food of the gods” risks becoming an ever pricier luxury.