Chocolate industry braces as Ivory Coast expects dire cocoa crop

FILE - Cocoa pods are seen at a farm in Daloa, Ivory Coast, on Oct. 2, 2023. Experts say the 2025 mid-crop cocoa harvest will be down about 40% from the yearly average.

Ivory Coast expects to record one of the worst mid-crop cocoa harvests of the last 15 years this season with production seen no higher than 300,000 metric tons compared with a yearly average of 500,000 tons, regulator and industry sources said.