Shoppers may get a bitter surprise in their Easter baskets this year. Chocolate eggs and bunnies are more expensive than ever as changing climate patterns eat into global cocoa supplies and the earnings of farmers in West Africa. About three-quarters of the world’s cocoa — the main ingredient in chocolate — are produced on cacao trees in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon.
It'll cost to have a sweet tooth this Easter. Which? analysis points to a 12.6% chocolate inflation at U.K. supermarkets compared to last year.
Lindt & Spruengli reported a rise in annual profit on Tuesday as the Swiss chocolate maker managed to pass on higher ingredients costs to customers while maintaining volumes amid a broader slowdown in the global chocolate market. Cocoa prices have risen to record highs as adverse weather in major growing regions, tree illness and capacity shortages lead to expectations of an ever wider supply deficit this season. Lindt, which makes Lindor balls and gold foil-wrapped Easter bunnies, reported a 17.9% rise in net income to 671.4 million Swiss francs ($758 million) for the year to Dec. 31, broadly in line with the 670 million francs forecast by analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank.