Cocoa, the main component in chocolate, has become more expensive in recent months as a result of a global cocoa shortage.
Prices are likely to increase until 2025, considering factors such as growing inflation, production cuts, and climate change.
The International Cocoa Organisation predicts that global cocoa production would fall by about 11% this year.
Cocoa, like gold or oil, is a 'commodity'—a resource purchased or sold in significant amounts on worldwide markets. The value of a commodity is defined by benchmark prices established in these markets.
Cocoa prices in the United States have more than doubled since January, rising from $4,200 per tonne to nearly $10,000.
A global food and agricultural bank attributed worldwide cocoa supply shortages to "adverse weather conditions, ageing trees, and crop disease."
For example, current El Nino weather patterns have been blamed for reducing crop development in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. West African countries account for more than half of global cocoa production.
According to a spokeswoman and analyst at the food and agriculture bank, global trade restrictions may make it more difficult for growers to comply with environmental and ethical guidelines.
Due to the high cost of cocoa, some producers have reduced the size of their products while keeping the price constant, a tendency known as "shrinkflation". For example, fewer or smaller chocolate eggs per packet.
A consumer advocacy organisation has urged merchants to be more honest about shrinkflation, so that customers are aware when a product has been modified.
A Swiss chocolatier company responded to the hike in prices by stating, "The world market price for cocoa has been rising continuously since the end of 2022." It warned customers that its costs would continue to soar in 2024 and 2025.
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