The price of chocolate bars has shot up across the world over the past year, meaning they can feel like a luxury – yet West Africa’s cocoa farmers have not been reaping the benefit. In fact, many are in a desperate state as they have not been paid for months.

“My husband fell sick, and I couldn’t get money to take him to the hospital. So he died at home,” 52-year-old Ghanaian cocoa farmer Akosua Frimpong told the BBC.

Following a surge in the cost of cocoa – the main ingredient of chocolate – in 2024, prices have since crashed.

Much of the world’s cocoa is produced in Ghana and Ivory Coast, where state regulators set the price a year in advance. The recent collapse in prices has made their beans around 40% more expensive than international traders are willing to pay.

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