Could Ebola increase the cost of chocolate? Cocoa prices are already 30 per cent higher than the same period last year, notes Saxo Bank Head of Commodity...

Could Ebola increase the cost of chocolate? Cocoa prices are already 30 per cent higher than the same period last year, notes Saxo Bank Head of Commodity Strategy Ole Hansen, who gives his take on rising concerns over the West African Ebola outbreak on cocoa in the run up to the Halloween and Christmas high-demand seasonal period. While Hansen does not believe Ebola has caused disruption to this year's cocoa crops, he believes there is a major risk if Ebola spreads from Sierra Leone and Liberia to neighboring key regions Ghana and Ivory Coast who grow 60 per cent of the world's cocoa crops. (VIEW LINK)