Meb 754 - the True Price of Chocolate. Agro Food Industry Hi-Tech

MEB 754

Ingram, V. J., & Chocoloney, T. (2015). The true price of chocolate. Agro Food Industry Hi-Tech, 26(1), 29-33.

In this paper, Ingram and Chocoloney (2015) analyze the real costs and price of chocolate under the effect of different factors, which are environment, society and economy. The writers interviewed cocoa farmers and traders in Indonesia, Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast and got some data of prices and costs from 2010 to 2014. Firstly, Ingram and Chocoloney (2015) explain the concept of price, and main ingredients of chocolate, which are cocoa and sugar. Then, the writers apply the value chain to structure the true costs, and a value chain includes farm level production transport, and final product manufacture. Next, the authors analyze the data and find economic costs is the major costs of pure chocolate bars, and this costs are borne by farm level. Finally, Ingram and Chocoloney (2015) claim that the real price of popular luxury products includes a few costs of the environment and society during the farm-to-mouth cycle, and all stakeholders should clearly identify and understand these costs and benefits.

This article is very useful for me to understand the structure of the price and cost of chocolate. The authors clearly explain the concept of price and cost, and analyze the costs of chocolate step by step. I plan to use some viewpoints from the paper to support my research about the price of luxury chocolate. However, the data is not accurate and lacking, and it may cause inaccurate conclusion.

(233 words)