Why is chocolate expensive?

 

If you count the changing seasons by the stock of holiday chocolates in your grocery store's seasonal aisle, you might be surprised by another significant change that comes along with the colorful packaging. Chocolate, like many other foods, is about to become more expensive. While inflation and ongoing supply chain issues have caused  wholesale chocolate & retail  prices to rise in 2022, the reason for this increase is much larger and may be long-term.

Chocolate companies have faced numerous challenges in recent years. According to the Wall Street Journal, the price of cocoa beans fell in 2021, which was good for candy makers. However, these companies have recently had difficulty sourcing some of the raw ingredients required to make chocolate at the price consumers have grown accustomed to. Chocolate is typically made of cocoa beans, cocoa butter, milk, and sugar (plus an emulsifier like soy lecithin), according to Read Cacao, but half of those ingredients are currently experiencing price increases.

According to the Wall Street Journal, chocolate companies that rely on cocoa beans from West Africa's Ivory Coast are facing a shortage due to a drought. According to analysts, this region is "the world's largest exporter of cocoa beans," and the hot weather without rain will undoubtedly be felt at the cash register when you purchase chocolate in the future. Sugar prices have also risen, resulting in an additional cost for chocolatiers. According to Fox Business, the cost of packaging chocolate has increased this year, leaving some feeling the pinch when pricing seasonal confections for Valentine's Day 2022.

If the weather cooperates and cocoa bean crops in the Ivory Coast are not ruined this dry season, another price increase in chocolate may be avoided, but this is beyond the control of farmers or candy makers.