'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
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6863597.1714161309!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.