Every day, Axel de Tarlé takes stock of the economy.
The economy with Axel de Tarlé. The French are big eaters of chocolates. Nearly 15,000 tons for the Easter weekend alone!
Yes, chocolate in the form of bell, rabbit, or egg. Easter and Christmas account for nearly 15% of annual consumption. On average, we consume seven kilograms of chocolates a year. That's the equivalent of 35 chocolate bars. It seems huge, but chocolate is everywhere: it is consumed in the form of square, cake, powder for breakfast, part spread! However, we are not the most consumer in the world. This title per inhabitant, goes to the Swiss and Germans who prance at more than ten kilos per year
Nevertheless, consumption drops: - 1% in France last year. We try to reduce the consumption of sugar, we stick to his line. So, we move more towards darker chocolate, with smaller portions. But, others take over. For if Europe - which accounts for half of the world's consumption - stagnates or even regresses, the rest of the world goes to chocolate, especially Asia.
In Côte d'Ivoire, where cocoa farming has expanded to the detriment of the forest
In China, consumption is only 500 grams a year, 15 times less than at home! But, it has increased by 16% in 2018. 1.5 billion Chinese people are eating chocolate, so the logistics must follow behind. And precisely, while the market is buzzing with world prices at + 30% last year, logistics is hard to follow. Today, cocoa is produced mainly in two countries - Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which account for 60% of world production. And to meet the demand, these countries produce more and more, at the risk of decaying the soil, and especially destroying the rainforest.
This is exactly what is happening in Côte d'Ivoire, where cocoa farming has spread to the detriment of the forest, which is shrinking to the chagrin of animals that are disappearing. For example, elephants are pushed back into a lean corridor. This is why multinationals are trying to set up organic sectors, for a sustainable crop that pays farmers better. There is urgency because it is one of the brakes on consumption. Double guilt with chocolate: it makes you fat, and his production is not always exemplary.