By Our Reporter
Due to increase in the reports of stolen cocoa produce from farms in Uganda, some farmers in the country has resorted to hiring gun men to protect their cocoa farms.
Global cocoa prices have reached their highest point in over a decade as dry weather hinders farming in Ghana and Ivory Coast, the biggest producers of cocoa in the world.
Consequently, thieves now attempt to cash in on the cocoa’s increased value by stealing from farms.
A farmer in the country and the Chief Executive Officer of Mkulima Exports Uganda, Mutanga Grace, disclosed that about 30% of the cocoa beans produced in the East African country is being stolen.
According to him, farmers in Uganda now used armed guards and dogs to protect their cocoa, which is a key ingridient in products like choclate, ice creams and cakes.
He said: ‘’Cocoa in the country now is like a hotcake, someone takes little but has taken a lot.’’
Mutanga explained that cocoa prices have been driven up by poor harvest in West Africa, which produces the bulk of the global supply.
He said hottest temperature and shifts in rainfall patternscaused by climate change also have an impact on harvests.
Cocoa prices on the New York commodities market reached a new all-time high of $5,874 a ton last Thursday.
The cost of the key ingridient for making chocolate has now doubledsince the start of 2023.
Soaring cocoa prices are already filtering through to consumers and squeezing major chocolate makers overseas.