Walking the Line
After World War II, price ceilings were lifted and economies boomed. As a result, prices shot up, quintupling to over $1000/tonne by 1947. But production growth outpaced demand, and from the mid-1950s, prices fluctuated but showed a general downward trend.
In response, in 1962, major producers—many newly independent—formed the Alliance of Cocoa Producers to fight overproduction.
Newspapers warned of a candy crunch. At first, it turned out, they had little to fear.