'Chocolate shortage' warning on day before Valentine's

The world could face a chocolate shortage in the coming years as shoppers in developing countries buy more of the sweet treat, a report has found.

Demand for the product is soaring but supply is being hampered by poor farming methods, according to a study entitled Destruction by Chocolate.

The news comes hours before Valentine's Day, an occasion often marked with chocolate-based gifts.

The typical Western consumer eats an average of 286 chocolate bars a year, which means producers need to plant an average of 10 cacao trees for every chocolate-lover.

Since the 1990s, more than a billion people from China, Indonesia, India, Brazil and the former Soviet Union have entered the market for cocoa.

But despite the hugely increased demand, supply has not kept up and stockpiles are falling.

Doug Hawkins, from research firm Hardman Agribusiness, said production of cocoa is under strain as farming methods have not changed for hundreds of years.

He said that unlike much agriculture, which has benefited from modern techniques, 90 per cent of the global cocoa crop is “produced by smallholders on subsistence farms with unimproved planting material”.

He added: "All the indicators are that we could be looking at a chocolate deficit of 100,000 tonnes a year in the next few years."

Additional reporting by PA