El Niño sours breakfast: cocoa, coffee, and sugar threaten to increase the cost of the grocery basket **Note:** The original text uses "El Niño" which is a proper noun and should be kept as is.

The warming of the Pacific Ocean, known as El Niño, could negatively impact crops of raw materials such as cocoa, corn, or coffee in various regions.

A perfect storm is brewing in the Pacific. As markets continue to brace for the energy crisis caused by the war between Iran and the United States — with oil prices returning to above $90 per barrel — the return of the meteorological phenomenon known as El Niño also threatens to push prices higher. Analysts warn that the return of El Niño threatens to drive up the prices of basic grocery items. Among them, some regular breakfast staples such as cocoa, sugar, coffee, wheat, or even soybeans. The perfect victim of this climatic event is undoubtedly chocolate. Cocoa futures have accumulated a 78% increase since May, which implies a jump from $3,218 per metric ton to $5,737, according to the U.S. futures market. Fears of crop destruction in Côte d'Ivoire, the main producer in West Africa, are causing a rise in prices, as chocolate manufacturers try to get ahead in orders to avoid a possible shortage. This price surge, analysts warn, could reach the consumer. Something similar is ...