Actually China is only part of the steadily increasing world demand for chocolate, This is made more noticeable because of a few things, first chocolate only grows between +-20 degrees off the equator. Hawaiian chocolate is good stuff but growing it there is like growing corn on the north pole.. If you look at a map you will seem that the parts of the world where chocolate likes to grow usually have pretty crappy governments. That is probably worse for chocolate production than the weather and demand combined. In most of the chocolate producing central American countries the farmers are not allowed to sell the beans directly to market. They have to sell to the government at government prices then the government sells on the open market and gets the real profit from the production.

lol. peak chocolate.
it's an opportunity. I feel (yes-it's a feeling not thinking) like I've read several articles talking about chinese demand driving world prices up. I have two thoughts (yes, thinking). One is as the middle class expands in China the demand shifts from US (which we're all comfortable with our own demand for things). so your mr. bill response makes me smile-like it's a conspiracy chinese people want shit. but 2. it's also a foil-the prices of stuff are going up because of INFLATION PEOPLE. both the chinese govt and our own govt want us to focus on droughts, floods, earthquakes, global warming(the recent peak avocado scare and Chipotles) rather than on the fact the govt is printing worthless paper-which you will feel first and the ruling class and cronies will not feel first.

China is watching world events, and being good "preppers" for it's 1.1 billion residents. Chocolate is just one of the food products being bought up for the future collapse.

I have to disagree with some details from iroseland, though I accept the broad narrative. First, I agree that just because in people in "China" or "Xanadu" or some other place buy something does not take way from you. If you know economics, then you know that more consumption means more production. My understanding is that African chocolate (Hershey's, Nestle's) is farmed by slaves. However, organic chocolate does not come from Africa. In Central America, hippies and lefties encourage and monitor ORGANIC chocolate for which the farmers get a fair price.

Same as economically-illiterate people blame Big Oil for increases in the price of gasoline when it's driven by world-wide demand... including China's and India's, amongst others'. Silly.

Buy chocolate futures!