'Cuckoo for cocoa': Chocolate prices on the rise ahead of Easter
An increase in chocolate prices could mean Easter eggs will be more egg-spensive this year.
According to experts, the spike in the seasonal sweet treats is due in part to high demand and the skyrocketing price of cocoa.
“Since November, cocoa prices went from US$3,000 a metric tonne to US$10,000 a metric tonne and the previous record was set back in July of 1977,” said Sylvain Charlebois, the director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. “People are going cuckoo for cocoa!”
He said the inflated cost is fueled by a “black pod” fungus infecting cacao trees, as well as flooding facing producers in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
“Those two countries actually represent about two-thirds of the world’s coca production,” Charlebois said.
Robert Parsons, a sessional instructor in supply chain management at the University of Manitoba said high seasonal demand doesn’t help.
“Everyone decides they’re going to get chocolate around Easter,” he said. “That’s why there’s an elevated demand. And if you have supply constraints, that’s why the prices are really gonna go super high.”
Decadence Chocolates, a shop located in Winnipeg’s West Broadway neighbourhood said it’s feeling the pinch.
“I’m absolutely concerned,” owner Helen Staines said.
While Staines hasn’t raised her prices yet, she said a hike could be on the horizon.
“I will try and keep it as minimal as I can,” she said. “I probably will not increase the price as full as my chocolate price is increased, but I’ll have to look at it.”
Local grocery stores said they’re finding that Easter candy prices are up, but sales are down.
“Normally, the (Easter) section…by around this time last year, would be almost three-quarters empty,” said Munther Zeid, Food Fare’s owner. “With rising costs, people are really watching what they’re buying.”
Staines said she knows high costs all too well.
“Price of sugar has already affected us, price of ginger, anything, any food product has affected us so far,” she said.
Both Charlebois and Parsons said while the price of chocolate will likely remain high for some time, it’s not expected to last forever. However, it’s not clear when the confectionary costs will melt down.
To get ahead of rising chocolate prices, they said people’s best bet is to wait until after Easter when there’s a lower demand and sales. They also recommend buying chocolate for Mother’s Day beforehand, perhaps with Easter goodies, to beat possible price hikes in the future.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.