Cocoa, the raw ingredient used to make chocolate, has been on an incredible price run, doubling in value since the start of 2024 and up over 250% since late last year. So far, the commodity is garnering better returns than bitcoin — and most stocks and bonds, for that matter.
The bitter seed has seen a massive surge in price after crops were damaged in West Africa and it found its supply chain strained. Meanwhile, chocolate bar manufacturers have been earning fantastic profits while simultaneously selling fewer products, suggesting that companies are helping to keep inflation high, and passing along what is otherwise known as price gouging to retail customers.
Cocoa has doubled in value since the start of 2024 and is up over 250% since late last year.
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Cocoa: the new world reserve currency
Of course, a commodity shooting up in value tends to get compared to bitcoin simply due to price action. In 2021, the price of lumber went through the roof, mainly due to a combination of new construction projects during and post-COVID-19 and a supply chain strain.
The price action caused the criminal CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to list a tokenized lumber futures market on the now-defunct FTX.
After the wild run in 2021, lumber prices have come back to Earth, down over 60% since all-time highs.
However, other commodities have been on price tears recently, with gold finally cracking and maintaining all-time highs that have hardly been touched since 2011. Uranium also hit highs not seen since 2007, and orange juice has seen prices go up only since 2021.
