Due to the crisis that has been affecting cocoa for months, the price of chocolate in Spain has accumulated between January and August of this year a increase of almost the 18%which led him to multiply for more than two price last year in the US market.
In concrete terms, the price of chocolate has skyrocketed. 17.9% so far this year, according to the latest CPI data for August, released this week by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Compared to August 2023, the price of chocolate has increased by 16.9%while in monthly values (August over July), its cost increased by 3.4%.
The cocoa crisis
The cocoa crisis, motivated by the fall world production Due to climatic factors and the appearance of pests, this raw material has reached record prices in recent months, in what experts consider to be the worst crisis for this product in four decades.
As a result, the price of cocoa broke through the psychological barrier of $10,000 last March, reaching $11,000 per tonne in April due to the lack of supply on the markets, and then moderated its price. However, futures contracts in the United States are currently showing a new rise in the price of cocoa, which could once again exceed $10,000 per tonne.
For reference, just twelve months earlier, cocoa was trading at around $3,772, meaning its price has increased over the past year. multiplied for more than two years and in two years, for more than three years.
Chocolate prices in supermarkets
Poor harvests in Africa The West, the world’s main producing region, and the weak increase in harvests, which caused a shortage of supply, are behind this strong rebound in cocoa prices.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) warned in its latest August bulletin that the global offer is still weak due to adverse climatic conditions, aging trees, pests and diseases that have affected production in the main production areas.
The organization plans a production deficit of 462,000 tonnes for the 2023/24 campaign. Specifically, it forecasts total stocks at the end of the campaign of 1.324 million tonnes and a ratio between stocks and demand for grain milling of 27.9%, the lowest in the last 45 years.
This crisis is already moving towards the chocolate price in the supermarketswith a rebound that so far this year is almost close to 18%. In the case of the price of cocoa and chocolate powder, the INE quantifies its cumulative increase until August at 6.8% and last year (August 2024 compared to August 2023), at 10.7%.
He chocolate It is the food whose price has increased the most in Spain so far this year, with potatoeswhich also increased by double digits between January and August, or 12.1%.
Increase the price of juices and coffee
It should also be noted that so far this year, the increase in the cost of fruit juice and vegetables, 8.2%; of the coffee (+4.7%); others alcoholic beers (+4.6%); legumes and dried vegetables (+4%) and non-alcoholic beer, which increased its prices by 3.7% between January and August.
While on the downhill side we find the legumesFresh and chilled vegetables as the food items whose price has fallen the most so far this year, 9%, followed by others edible oils (-4.5%), sheep and goat meat (-3%) and fresh fish or refrigerated (-2.9%).
The price of olive oilFor his part, so far this year he has accumulated an increase 1.9%. Compared to August 2023, its price is 25.1% higher and if we compare it to January 2021, the liquid gold has become more expensive by 170.5%.
