It’s now all too common to see Easter eggs in the supermarkets this early in the year.
But chocolate lovers may be left with a bitter taste when they take the seasonal treats to the tills.
The cost of cocoa is up 143 per cent compared with this time last year, leading to a sharp increase in chocolate prices.
The Ferrero Rocher Easter Egg was £7.50 in 2023 but doubled to £15 last year and has now risen again to £17.50.
A 1kg bag of Cadbury mini eggs has gone up by £3 each year since 2023 and is now priced at £15.
Thijs Geijer, a senior economist at ING who covers food and agriculture, claimed various factors have affected recent chocolate prices: ‘It’s a combination of unfavourable weather over the past seasons and demand remaining quite firm.
‘This has led to falling stocks of cocoa, leaving markets quite sensitive to any negative news.’
Most of the world’s production is in West Africa, a region with underdeveloped farms that has faced extreme weather in recent times.
Ivory Coast and Ghana exported £127million worth of cocoa beans to the UK in 2023 but both countries experienced significant declines in production last year due to record-breaking temperatures above 40 degrees.
Cocoa’s four-fold cost increase over the last two years has been challenging for chocolate makers.
Cadbury owners said rising prices were ‘a last resort’ caused by ‘ingredients such as cocoa and dairy, which are widely used in our products, costing far more than they have done previously’.
The rising cost of cocoa was reported in trade journal Confectionery News which said manufacturers and retailers expect Britons to continue forking out for their Easter eggs.
It said: ‘Prepare for cocoa prices to hit new inflation-adjusted peaks.
‘Despite this surge, consumer demand remains inelastic, meaning price hikes are unlikely to deter purchases significantly.’
The publication added: ‘As one of the biggest seasons for sales, this paints a positive picture for manufacturers preparing to roll out their new product line-ups.’
