For chocolate lovers… prices have risen. This is news for you

High cocoa prices are bad news for consumers if chocolate makers continue to pass costs on to consumers or sell smaller or less cocoa bars. The upcoming Easter holiday is the peak period for chocolate consumption, and the time lag between commodity and retail markets means the brunt of the impact on shoppers is still to come.

There are fears the supply situation could get worse, as new EU rules – aimed at stopping products that destroy forests from being sold in stores – could make it harder for the European bloc’s chocolate makers to secure supplies.

The focus now turns to West Africa’s upcoming mid-season crop, the smaller of two annual harvests. Bloomberg reported that the main market regulator in Ivory Coast, the largest cocoa producer, expects a decline this season.

“The supply situation in West Africa remains very tight with the mid-season harvest due next week, and this continues to support cocoa prices,” the Hightower report said in a note.

Other producers, such as Brazil and Ecuador, are seeking to increase production but it takes a few years before newly planted cocoa trees produce beans – delaying an easing of pressure on strained global supplies. (Sky News Arabia)