In a global chocolate war, it is Hershey against West Africa

Accusations by the Ivory Coast and Ghana are a further hit to the reputations of chocolate makers, which have come under pressure for their role in deforestation, child labor and poverty By Isis Almeida, Baudelaire Mieu and Leanne de Bassompierre / Bloomberg Some in the world’s chocolate markets see a hefty premium charged by the largest cocoa producers as blunt instrument wielded by the OPEC of confections — a tool of a faraway cartel that artificially inflates the price of a precious commodity. To the leaders of Ivory Coast and Ghana, where most of the world’s cocoa is produced, the argument is something else entirely: a lifeline for farmers who would otherwise be held hostage to giant...