As Hershey Raises Prices, Ivory Coast Cocoa Farmers Grapple With Climate Change
VOA News|AFRICA
March 07, 2022 9:18 PM (source)
As Hershey Raises Prices, Ivory Coast Cocoa Farmers Grapple With Climate Change
隨著好時(Hershey)提高價格,象牙海岸可可農人應對氣候變化
March 07, 2022 9:18 PM
Henry Wilkins
VOA News 搶先看
由於世界上最大的可可生產國象牙海岸的出口商成本上升,巧克力製造商預計在今年(編按:2022 年)提高價格。美國最大巧克力生產商好時(Hershey)公司上個月(編按:2022 年 02 月)表示,由於原料成本上漲,公司將全面提高其產品售價。另為因應美國於COVID-19 大流行期間對巧克力的需求有所增加,象牙海岸的可可生產商也正努力滿足其需求。專家說明,氣候變化的影響是原因之一。哈佛大學指出,到 2030 年,西非部分地區將會太熱太乾,無法正常生產可可。全球科學組織國際農業聯合研究中心(Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers)的克里斯汀.邦恩(Christian Bunn)表示,有關氣候變化的訊息可以讓農民知道如何改善他們在農作物上的培育。
Chocolate makers are expected to raise prices this year due to higher costs of cocoa from exporters like Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer.
Hershey, the largest producer of chocolate products in the United States, said last month it will raise prices on its products across the board due to the rising cost of ingredients.
Meanwhile, chocolate makers like Dana Mroueh said they are seeing cocoa prices rise in Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer.
"We've noticed the price of cocoa is going up these few years, especially organic cocoa. So, from the beginning to today, those five years, we can say the price has risen 20 percent," Mroueh said.
Demand for chocolate in America increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and cocoa producers in Ivory Coast are struggling to keep up with that demand.
Experts say one reason is the impact of climate change.
Harvard University says that by 2030, parts of West Africa will be too hot and dry to adequately produce cocoa. The West African countries of Ghana and Ivory Coast alone produce 70 percent of global supply.
Cocoa farmer Raphael Konan Kouassi took VOA to his plantation, a shady orchard where fat green and yellow cocoa pods hung from tree trunks. He said trees are yielding less due to rising temperatures and poor rains.
"Almost all of the young plants die in the high season. If you have not been able to get water to them, you have no cocoa," he said.
Kouassi receives government assistance in the form of cocoa trees, which are more resilient to the fluctuations of climate change, but he said government distributions happen at the wrong time of year for the saplings to survive.
Christian Bunn of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, a global scientific organization, said information about how the climate is changing can inform farmers on how to better nurture their crops.
"What we're seeing is that the onset of both dry and wet season can change. It's less reliable. During the season, there may be breaks in terms of rain during the dry season, or there's a dry spell during the wet season, and the overall distribution or amounts of rainfall they're receiving may change," Bunn said.
The data shows it may be better for farmers to stop producing cocoa and diversify into other crops, he said.
However, Olga Yenou, the CEO of an Ivorian company that supplies The Hershey Company, said higher prices for cocoa could be welcomed by farmers.
"My opinion is that these farmers should have better prices, should earn more, because they work hard. Most are poor," Yenou said.
Her wish appears to be coming true. As climate change continues to bite, prices continue to surge.
Language Notes
註 1: impact 意指巨大影響,強大作用
註 2: yield 意指產生;出產;得出
註 3: resilient 意指有彈性的;能復原的;有復原力的;適應性強的
註 4: onset 意指(指不愉快的事情)的開始,發作
註 5: diversify 意指多樣化;差異化
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Check your comprehension!
Choose the BEST answer to each of the questions below. After you finish, highlight the parentheses to reveal the hidden answers.
1. ( A ) According to the article, which of the following factors regarding the rising price of chocolate is INCORRECT?
(A) Economic recession due to the war
(B) Increasing chocolate demand
(C) Impact of rising temperatures
(D) Impact of poor rains
2. ( B ) The word "nurture" in paragraph 11 is closest in meaning to:
(A) neglect
(B) nourish
(C) spurn
(D) suspend
3. ( C ) According to the article, what does the word "surge" in the last paragraph mean?
(A) a sudden increase of an emotion
(B) a sudden and great movement forward
(C) a sudden and significant increase
(D) a sudden rush or burst
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