%{{tag.tag}} {{articledata.title}} {{moment(articledata.cdate)}} @{{articledata.company.replace(" ","")}} comment The price of %Cocoa is continuing to climb higher and hit record levels amid a global supply crunch. The price for the active ingredient in chocolate rose 4.9% to $10,558 U.S. a ton in overnight trading. At one point in London trading, cocoa prices increased as much as 11% before paring those gains. Cocoa prices jumped higher on reports of flooding in Nigeria, the fifth-largest grower of the commodity in the world. Planting and mid-crop harvests are expected to be disrupted by the floods in Nigeria. Cocoa prices have already more than doubled this year as bad harvests in West Africa have led to global supply shortages. The current situation has made it difficult for chocolatiers to get hold of cocoa beans, pressuring stocks of companies such as %Hershey (NYSE: HSY) and Nestle (NESN). The global cocoa shortage and price spike is leading to higher chocolate prices for consumers as some processors have been forced to halt production intermittently. Analysts expect the situation with cocoa shortages and prices to get worse before they get better, forecasting that a recovery isn’t likely to take place until 2025 or 2026 at the earliest.