Cocoa: why is the price of chocolate skyrocketing?

Why is chocolate still so expensive? After two years of soaring cocoa prices, the bean harvest has picked up again and calmed the surge. However, on store shelves, the price for consumers remains high.

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In a supermarket, the price of chocolate bars has skyrocketed, with the most expensive costing €4.69. On average, prices have risen by 15.3% in one year. The reason for these high prices is the surge in cocoa prices. Take, for example, a bar of chocolate from a well-known brand. Its price followed the price of cocoa beans, but since the decline that began last spring, its price has stagnated. One student has had to adapt. “I'm turning to something that may be less tasty, less expensive, and perhaps of lower quality,” says Léo Honet, a business student.

Pressure on manufacturers

Trade negotiations between supermarkets and manufacturers are in full swing and tensions are mounting over the price of chocolate. The president of Intermarché has publicly protested against the price increases demanded by manufacturers. “With such greedy prices, they're going to become obese,” Thierry Cotillard said on January 9 on RTL.

Behind the scenes, large retailers are putting pressure on chocolate manufacturers. One of them explained by phone that he had been asked to lower his prices: “The expectations are around -5 and -10%.” Another said he was being blackmailed by certain retailers: “If you improve your prices, we'll favor you. If you don't agree, we'll give you access to fewer stores and fewer products.”

How can we explain the origin of this price surge?

How can we explain the origin of this price surge? To find out, France Télévisions teams traveled to Côte d'Ivoire, the world's leading producer of cocoa beans. In the Tiassalé region, farmers like Odette Kouakou have been hit by very poor harvests in recent years due to lack of rain. Now, the cocoa trees are recovering. “The rainy season was long and there was heavy rainfall. As a result, the harvest was very good. Twice as good as in previous years,” says the cocoa producer.

A few miles away, she delivers her produce to a cooperative of nearly 300 growers. After two disastrous years for producers, the government doubled the minimum purchase price for beans. “Many producers have started to build small houses, which allows us to send our children to school and take care of our families,” says Nestor Adroh Kouassi Aka, president of the Bandama Fair Trade Cooperative (SCEB).

This increase in the price of cocoa has a direct impact on chocolate manufacturers, such as those in the Basque Country. In two years, one company has raised its prices by 20%. However, the raw material only accounts for part of its production costs. The owner of the SME defends himself. "The raw material accounts for 15% of the selling price. And imagine, if you multiply that by three, it would represent 45%. So it's huge for us. We don't have the means to absorb all that. So we've been forced to pass on part of it and absorb part of it," says Erwan Verlingue, director of L'Atelier du Chocolat.

Prices expected to fall at the end of the year

It is impossible to lower prices at the moment, he says, because the chocolate he sells today was made with cocoa purchased at a high price a year and a half ago. The drop in cocoa prices in recent weeks will not immediately affect the price of these chocolates. “What we buy now will be in stores between December 2026 and March 2027. This is because we have our current stocks, and because there is a certain amount of time between when we buy it and when it is delivered. And then there is the part where we have to produce it and transport it to the store,” continues Erwan Verlingue.

So the price of chocolate on store shelves is not likely to fall immediately. Probably not before the end of the year.