The El Nino in 2023 had a detrimental impact on the cocoa harvest in West Africa, prices quadrupled and businesses reacted. Chocolate prices skyrocketed around the world, chocolate makers were reducing their cocoa content and in some cases making their products smaller. Since then cocoa prices have come back down, but the cost of chocolate products hasn&#x27;t followed, Hannah Mullane takes a look at why. Now, the 2026 El Nino threatens to repeat history, cocoa prices have already started rising again as bad weather is expected to impact the next harvest. Farmers, wholesalers, and chocolate makers explain how the volatile market is impacting them. Presenter: Hannah Mullane Producer: Gideon Long Photo credit: Olivia Richwald. Copyright BBC

Follow the Money: Why does chocolate cost so much?

Business Daily

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[SPEAKER_07] We start today's program in the supermarket, in my favorite spot, the chocolate aisle. All the fan favorites are here, there's Cadbury's, Kit Kats, Toblerones, and you might have noticed that the cost of these sweet treats has increased over the last few years. One of the reasons for that is the price of cocoa. It's the most important ingredient in making chocolate, and in 2024 prices spiked to record highs of more than $12,000 per tonne, four times the average price.

[SPEAKER_07] Some chocolate makers made bars smaller, others changed their recipe to use less cocoa. Now, cocoa prices are coming down. The cost of chocolate isn't. I'm Hannah Mullane, and today on Follow the Money on Business Daily, I'm going to be looking at what's going on with the cocoa price, and asking why the chocolate price is still so high.

[SPEAKER_07] To find out why the cocoa price went up so dramatically, we need to head back to 2023, when the El Niño weather phenomenon hit West Africa. The region saw heavy rains and severe flooding, triggering black pod fungal disease, rotting cocoa pods directly on trees. The region produces more than 60% of the world's cocoa, so when a major weather event impacts the harvest, it hits global prices.

[SPEAKER_07] Suddenly, there wasn't enough cocoa to go around, sending what had been steady prices of around $3,000 per tonne up to the highest ever seen at $12,000. Since then, the price has come back down to around $6,000 per tonne.

Follow the Money: Why does chocolate cost so much?

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Follow the Money: Why does chocolate cost so much?

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.