Coasties may have noticed something sweet becoming a little more expensive lately—chocolate bars.

Whether it’s your daily treat or a gift for someone special, prices on the shelves have been creeping up, and it’s all due to a mix of global and local factors.

A big part of the price increase comes from a shortage of cocoa.

The majority of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast and Ghana, but poor harvests there have caused cocoa prices to skyrocket.

A combination of extreme weather, disease, and underinvestment in cocoa farming has led to a dramatic drop in production.

This has sent cocoa prices up by three times since early 2023, and as a result, chocolate makers worldwide—including in New Zealand—have had no choice but to pass those costs on to consumers.

While New Zealand doesn’t grow cocoa, our local market hasn’t been spared.

Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 caused damage to infrastructure, which disrupted supply chains and drove up the cost of transporting goods.

That’s made imported items like chocolate even more expensive here on the Hibiscus Coast.

There’s also the issue of the New Zealand dollar (NZD).

The NZD has weakened against the US dollar in the past year, and since a lot of the ingredients used in chocolate—like sugar and dairy—are priced in US dollars, this has added to the overall cost of chocolate bars.

Big brands like Whittaker’s and Mondelez (which owns Cadbury) have confirmed they’ve raised prices in response to these rising costs.

For example, Whittaker’s hiked prices by about 10% in late 2023. Supermarkets like Woolworths and Foodstuffs have reflected these price increases in their shelf prices as well.

On top of all that, there’s ongoing talk about a potential sugar tax in New Zealand.

Although it hasn’t been introduced yet, some believe chocolate makers might be raising prices now in anticipation of it, which could add further pressure on costs down the line.

Another factor is the growing demand for ethically sourced cocoa.

As more people want to ensure that their chocolate is Fair Trade-certified, manufacturers are facing higher costs to meet these sustainability standards.

These costs, too, often get passed onto consumers.

For now, it seems that chocolate prices are likely to stay high, with cocoa production expected to stabilise only in the coming years.

This increase in prices is part of a wider trend in rising living costs that is impacting many household staples here on the Hibiscus Coast, making it a little harder for everyone to enjoy a good piece of chocolate.

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