Rich cocoa prices hitting shoppers with bitter chocolate costs as Easter approaches

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Sweet Easter baskets will likely come at a bitter cost this year for consumers as the price of cocoa climbs to record highs. Cocoa futures have roughly doubled in 2024 after surging 61% overall in 2023. Rising temperatures and weather conditions have stressed and damaged crops in West Africa, which produces more than 70% of the global cocoa supply.

FILE - Chocolate rabbits wait to be decorated at the Cocoatree chocolate shop, April 8, 2020, in Lonzee, Belgium. Sweet Easter baskets will likely come at a bitter cost this year for consumers as the price of cocoa climbs to record highs. NEW YORK — Sweet Easter baskets will likely come at a bitter cost this year for consumers as the price of cocoa climbs to record highs.

Big chocolate companies like Hershey’s and Cadbury maker Mondelez have been passing those costs on to consumers — and then some: Hershey’s net profit margins ticked higher to 16.7% in 2023 from 15.8% in 2022. Mondelez reported a jump to 13.8% in 2023 from 8.6% in 2022. Mondelez, which owns Easter basket staple Cadbury, has been relying on price increases to counter the surge in cocoa prices. The company has said it commands a 13% share in the global chocolate market. It acknowledged price increases of up to 15% within its chocolate category in 2023 and higher prices will likely be a key factor in meeting revenue growth forecasts for up to 5% in 2024.

 

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