Rising chocolate costs put the bite on sweet treat

Chocolate lovers look away – the candy deal with is the newest sufferer of rising residing prices.

Record costs for key elements sugar and cocoa are pushing manufacturing prices even greater, after they rose as much as 20 per cent final 12 months.

Cocoa costs are hovering due to decrease world manufacturing, Rabobank says.

“We’ve seen a lot of inflation in the chocolate category already, however we’re expecting there’s more price pressure coming,” mentioned Pia Piggott, of Rabobank.

“The cocoa price will continue to stay quite elevated into next year.”

Global cocoa costs have risen 27 per cent this 12 months, partly due to decreased manufacturing in main cocoa-growing areas of West Africa.

Wet circumstances and flooding in Ivory Coast – which accounts for greater than 40 per cent of worldwide cocoa manufacturing – have left cocoa timber with illness and decay.

Lower dairy costs are offering some aid for chocolate producers, however the value of cocoa and sugar are at file highs for the last decade.

“Raw sugar is up 20 per cent year to date, so for manufacturers, if 60 per cent of your goods are sugar, that is a substantial input price increase,” Miss Piggott mentioned.

While a file sugar harvest is anticipated in one of many world’s high producing nations Brazil, it will not be sufficient to deliver costs down.

Rabobank mentioned regardless of the excessive price of elements, chocolate producers nonetheless have some candy offers on provide.

“There still is a lot of promotional activity in the space because these companies are trying to keep market share and gain it,” Ms Piggott mentioned.

“Manufacturers would have been able to price in some of their cost of inputs.”

Source: www.perthnow.com.au