The price of chocolate in Spain has increased by almost 18% between January and August of this year due to the crisis that has been affecting cocoa for months. which led to its price being multiplied by more than two last year in the US market.
Specifically, according to the latest CPI data for August, released this week by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the price of chocolate has climbed 17.9% so far this year.
Compared to August 2023, the price of chocolate recorded in August this year an increase of 16.9%, while in monthly values (August over July), its cost increased by 3.4%.
The cocoa crisis, driven by the decline in global production due to climatic factors and the appearance of pests, has led this raw material to reach record prices in recent months, in what experts consider to be the worst crisis for this product in four decades.
The price of cocoa crossed the psychological barrier of 10,000 dollars last March, even reaching $11,000 per tonne in April due to lack of supply on the markets and then moderate its price. However, futures contracts in the United States are currently showing a new increase in the price of cocoa, which could once again exceed $10,000 per tonne.
For reference, just twelve months ago, cocoa was trading at around $3,772, meaning that in the last year its price has more than doubled and in two years, more than tripled.
Poor harvests in West Africa, the world’s main producing region, and in the bad increase in collection, which caused a supply shortage, are behind this strong rebound in cocoa prices.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) warned in its latest August bulletin that global supply remains low due to unfavorable weather conditions, aging trees, pests and diseases that have affected production in major producing 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 affecting the prices of chocolate in supermarkets, with an increase of almost 18% since the beginning of the year. 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 versus August 2023), at 10.7%.
Chocolate is the food item whose price has increased the most in Spain so far this year, along with potatoes, which also increased by double digits between January and August, by 12.1%.
Prices of “free” fruit juices, coffee and beer are increasing
It is also worth noting that so far this year, the increase in the price of fruit and vegetable juices, by 8.2%; coffee (+4.7%); other alcoholic beers (+4.6%); legumes and dried vegetables (+4%) and non-alcoholic beer, which increased its prices by 3.7% between January and August.
On the decline side, fresh or chilled legumes and vegetables are the food whose price has fallen the most so far this year, 9%, followed by other edible oils (-4.5%), beef, ovine and caprine meat (-3%) and fresh or chilled fish (-2.9%).
The price of Olive oil, for its part, has accumulated a 1.9% increase so far this year. Compared to August 2023, its price is 25.1% higher, and compared to January 2021, “liquid gold” has become 170.5% more expensive.
