Cocoa crisis: Germany faces biggest price surge in two decades

WEB DESK: Germany is facing a significant rise in the cost of importing cocoa beans, marking the steepest increase in twenty years, according to the Federal Statistical Office’s latest report on Tuesday.

In January 2024, prices shot up by 73.4 per cent compared to the previous year, a surge that’s likely to affect the price of chocolate for consumers.

Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprüngli has sounded the alarm about the escalating prices of chocolate. Earlier this year, the company warned that the rising costs of importing cocoa beans could lead to further price hikes in 2024 and 2025, assuming cocoa prices remain high.

One of the main reasons is the shortage of cocoa on the global market, particularly due to failed harvests in West Africa.

Germany saw an 8 per cent drop in cocoa bean imports in 2023 compared to the previous year, with most of its cocoa coming from the Ivory Coast.

The last time prices rose so sharply was in October 2002, when cocoa costs surged by almost 88 per cent.

Additionally, chocolate producers saw prices rise by 8.8 per cent in March 2024 compared to February 2023, a figure described by the statistical office as higher than usual.