fuss over chocolate

[B. Elijah Griffin]

This predicted chocolate shortage sounds to me like a surefire self-
defeating prophecy. I mean what better way to convince people who
think they have a clever new way to produce cocoa to go off and pursue
it? Isn't this the reason we all like the free market?

"Current chocolate production methods are likely to fail." ->
"Lots of people like chocolate a lot." ->
"Chocolate demand is probably reasonably inelastic." ->
"Higher prices for chocolate will make new production methods feasible." ->
"New production methods should be pursused."

Elijah
------
capitalist

[Jim Kingdon]

Sounds like the fuss is bigger than the reality. At least based on:

The breakthrough rally was technical and
speculative, with no fresh fundamental news behind
it as industry experts have paid little heed to
recent press reports that new strains of disease
were devastating cocoa production in South America
and West Africa and threatening to cause a world
chocolate shortage.

This is from Yahoo, "FOCUS-Cocoa hits five-month highs, copper falls",
Wednesday May 6, 7:53 pm Eastern Time