New historical record for the price of cocoa flown, in the past few hours, to over 10 thousand dollars per ton. An increase that paves the way for a further increase in the price of chocolate. It was the bets of the edge funds that kicked off the rush of prices that rose due to production difficulties in some West African countries such as Ghana and Ivory Coast.
The result was record prices: since the beginning of the year, in fact, they have risen by over 140% while in the last 12 months they have practically tripled. And, as mentioned, the increase in cocoa prices will lead to an increase in chocolate prices from giants such as Hershey and Mondelez, which will hit the wallets of consumers already put to the test by inflation and thus slow down Easter sales. both in the United States but also elsewhere. “A significant part of cocoa inflation could be structural” after the EU rules on deforestation, explained Max Gumport, analyst at BNP Paribas Exane. And to support sales, many Stars and Stripes chains have increased discounts for the Easter period on Cadbury, Reese’s, Hershey’s, M&M and Lindt products.
Estimates indicate that Easter will see minimal growth for chocolate producers this year and, overall, a difficult 2023. For Codacons, the new cocoa record risks having negative consequences on the prices of a multitude of consumer products: from chocolate bars to chocolates, from cocoa drinks to snacks or biscuits filled with chocolate, through to spreadable creams . But ice cream, cakes, pastries and other fresh products that use the raw material cocoa will also be affected by the ongoing crisis and will suffer a price increase.
