By Sama Marwan,
A new report warns that biodiversity loss and climate change are increasingly threatening six of Europe’s most important food imports, most notably cocoa, wheat, and coffee, due to ongoing environmental changes.
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, the European Climate Foundation issued a report stating that more than half of these food imports come from countries vulnerable to climate change, with limited resources to adapt. For three of these crops — wheat, maize (corn), and cocoa — two-thirds of imports originate from countries with relatively intact biodiversity.
The report highlights that maize, rice, and wheat, in addition to cocoa, coffee, and soybeans, are key raw materials used in food production and export across the European Union.
It also revealed that more than half of imports of these six foods come from countries at risk from climate change and with limited adaptive capacity. For wheat, maize, and cocoa specifically, two-thirds of these imports are from countries with intact biodiversity.
Camilla Heslop, the lead author of the report, stated:
“These are not abstract threats — they are already materializing in ways that negatively impact businesses, jobs, and the availability and price of food for consumers. And the situation is worsening.”
EU’s Chocolate Industry Faces Unprecedented Risk
As the world’s largest producer and exporter of chocolate, the EU’s chocolate industry — valued at around €44 billion — faces the greatest threat from both climate change and biodiversity loss.
About 97% of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, comes from countries with low to medium climate resilience, according to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Index. This index combines a country’s vulnerability to climate damage with its capacity to access financial and institutional support.
For cocoa, European imports are concentrated in a few West African countries — Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria — all of which are grappling with overlapping and intensifying effects on climate and biodiversity.
According to Heslop:
“The EU is paying an increasing price for cocoa imports due to these environmental pressures, with the total import value rising by 41% over the past year.”
This rise is also driven by climate-linked increases in sugar prices, highlighting the “double environmental hit” affecting not only chocolate manufacturers but also other producers who rely on multiple environmentally sensitive inputs.
According to a recent analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), an environmental think tank, chocolate prices have surged by 43% over the past three years, with “question marks” clearly appearing on supermarket shelves.
