New Yorkers Warned That Chocolate Is Being Wiped Out by a COVID-Like Pandemic

This is probably going to sound a little strange, but it looks like chocolate could be in some serious trouble. It could be having its own kind of pandemic.

Cacao tree is the source of more than half of the world's chocolate, and it's under attack by a Covid-like pandemic in West Africa. If you are a chocolate lover (and who isn't) this could give everyone including New Yorkers something to worry about.

This disease is called the "cacao swollen shoot virus disease" (CSSVD) and it is causing problems with cacao trees in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. It is spread by mealybugs that feed on the trees, CSSVD makes the cacao trees sick and it causes the roots to swell while shrinking the cacao pods.

There have some been huge losses already, with more than 254 million cacao trees being effected. The harvest reduction could be up around 15% to 20% in Ghana alone.

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All is not lost yet as scientists have started giving the cacao trees vaccines against CSSVD, to fight the disease. The only problem is that the vaccines are expensive. This makes it even more difficult for the farmers to make ends meet.

Here is the big question: What does this mean for chocolate lovers in New York? The "New York Post" says that the experts are warning us that the chocolate supply is in serious trouble.

READ MORE: NEW YORKERS BRACE FOR SOARING COCOA PRICES

There's talk of stockpiling chocolate while we still can. Unlike when the world stockpiled toilet paper, this makes some sense because many of us can't get by without our chocolate fix. I'll be stockpiling my chocolate cubby, how about you? What? Doesn't everyone have a chocolate cubby?