Chocolate is one of the world's favorite foods, and the global chocolate industry is worth $100 billion dollars.Here are eight surprising facts about the chocolate industry.Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.Chocolate is one of the world's favorite foods.And although it's never really a bad time to talk about chocolate, it's especially relevant now: November 29 is National Chocolate Day, after all.But behind one of our favorite foods is a $103 billion industry with aspects most people don't know aboutsome sweet, and others that might leave a bitter taste in your mouth.Read on for eight surprising facts about the chocolate industry.It takes about 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.According to the National Confectioners Association, it takes approximately 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate. For reference, a Hershey's milk chocolate bar weighs 1.55 ounces. As there are 16 ounces in a pound, that means about 10 Hershey's bars equal one pound of chocolate, with about 40 cocoa beans going into each bar.On average, each cacao tree produces enough fruit each year to make 1 to 3 pounds of chocolate.Cacao trees yield an average of 20 to 30 pods per year, and each pod contains 20 to 40 cocoa beans. This means that each cacao tree produces anywhere from 400 to 1,200 cocoa beans every year. As it takes about 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate, this is equivalent to 1 to 3 pounds of chocolate.Switzerland is the world's biggest consumer of chocolate, eating 19.4 pounds per capita.While Americans consume an impressive amount of chocolate (especially on holidays like Halloween, Easter, and Valentine's Day), the world's leading consumers of the sweet treat are in Europe, with Switzerland heading up the list at 19.4 pounds per capita. It's followed closely behind by Germany (17.8 pounds per capita), Ireland (17.4 pounds per capita), the United Kingdom (16.8 pounds per capita), and Sweden (14.6 pounds per capita).Global cocoa production is estimated to hit a record high this year: 4.85 million metric tons.Attributed in part to favorable weather conditions, cocoa production is set to reach a record high in 2019, which isn't necessarily good news for the chocolate industry.In fact, the opposite is true, as this increased production will not likely be met with an increased demand for the product and will therefore keep global prices low. The Ivory Coast continues to be the world's largest producer of cacao, with an estimated 2.12 million metric tons for this year's harvest.While big chocolate manufacturers continue to dominate the market, 'super premium' chocolate sales are steadily growing year by year.A 2016 report analyzing the US chocolate candy market found that sales of super premium chocolatedefined as chocolate sold at more than $1.50 per ounce or more than $24 per poundhit $55 million that year, a 15.4% increase from the year before.In comparison, the $1.9 billion premium chocolate market grew by 4.6% in 2016 and the $8.9 billion everyday chocolate market only grew 0.3% in 2016.Factors attributed to this increase include consumers' view of premium chocolate as an accessible indulgence, paired with an expanding selection of premium confectionery products available online.Despite a booming industry that continues to grow each year, most cacao farmers earn less than $1 per day.The Guardian recently reported that workers in the $100 billion chocolate industry earn, on average, less than $1 per day, often working in harsh heat with no shade and exposed to high levels of pesticides. Farmers bear the physical burden of the cacao harvest and uncertainties inherent in cultivating cacao, but only receive about 6% of each chocolate bar's sale price while manufacturers and retailers keep 80%.The high demand for chocolate has led to massive amounts of deforestation, particularly in the Ivory Coast, which has lost 80% of its forests over the last 50 years.The Seattle Times reported that in West Africa, where two-thirds of the world's cocoa is produced, deforestation of tropical rainforests has accelerated in the past decade. The Ivory Coast has lost an estimated 80% of its forests over the last 50 years. The deforestation is largely attributed to hundreds of thousands of poor cocoa farmers looking to expand their plots to grow more cacao trees.Child labor continues to be an industry-wide issue, with more than 2 million children engaged in dangerous labor on cocoa farms in West Africa in 2015.The Washington Post reported earlier this year that the world's biggest chocolate companies have consistently missed several deadlines to remove child labor from their cocoa supply chains."As a result, the odds are substantial that a chocolate bar bought in the United States is the product of child labor," The Post wrote.Child labor on cocoa farms is an ongoing issue that's a product of high demand and the low global price for cocoa.The story references a 2015 US Labor Department report which detailed that more than 2 million children were engaged in dangerous laborincluding swinging machetes, carrying heavy loads, and spraying pesticidesin cocoa-growing regions in West Africa.
Click here to read full news..
