Affected by climate change, the main global cocoa-producing regions of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire have experienced continuous crop failures in recent years, leading to a surge in global cocoa futures prices over the past two years. Although the price of cocoa has fallen from its peak, it remains high, and the increase in cocoa prices has directly impacted the production costs of chocolate. Recently, several mainstream chocolate brands in the United States have announced price hikes.
The daily London and New York prices published by the International Cocoa Organization show that on Wednesday this week, the cocoa futures price was $7380 per ton. This figure is down from the peak of $11984 in December last year but is still 121% higher than two years ago. As a core ingredient for making chocolate, the rise in cocoa prices directly affects the production costs of chocolate.
According to data from the consumer goods and services market research firm Nielsen IQ, in July 2021, the average price of American chocolate bars was $2.43. By last week, this price had risen to $3.45, an increase of 41%.
Recently, chocolate giants such as Nestle and Ferrero have announced price increases. On the 22nd, Hershey’s, a US chocolate manufacturer, informed retailers that it would raise the average price of its chocolate products, potentially reaching double digits. Hershey’s stated that these price increases are unrelated to any US government tariffs or trade policies.
Moreover, the market is also concerned about the threat of tariffs. Côte d’Ivoire leads the world in cocoa production. In April, President Trump threatened to impose a 21% tariff on cocoa and other products from Côte d’Ivoire, but subsequently suspended the implementation of the tariffs. The American Candy Association has called on the Trump administration to protect cocoa from tariff impacts. The organization claims that the United States imports nearly $4.4 billion worth of chocolate, cocoa, and candy annually, with members exporting nearly $2 billion worth of US-made chocolate and candy each year.