The price of cocoa has increased by 130% in one year: “for Easter, prices only increase by around 5%”

Gilles Rouvière, secrétaire général du Syndicat du chocolat : “Il serait hasardeux d’imaginer une baisse à court terme du cours du cacao”.

Entretien avec Gilles Rouvière, secrétaire général du Syndicat du chocolat, qui regroupe 70 adhérents sur le plan national. Il analyse les conséquences de la hausse du cours du cacao.

What are the reasons for the boom in cocoa prices??

The reasons are multiple. First there are the climatic conditions that Ivory Coast and Ghana, the two main cocoa bean producing countries in the world, had to endure. And more particularly Ivory Coast, which supplies the majority of cocoa beans imported by our country. There are, in fact, two rather paradoxical phenomena which have come to accentuate, in 2023, this climate effect, which is the consequence of the El Nino climatic phenomenon. On the one hand, there were the torrential rains which fell on these two countries and which caused diseases on the cocoa plantations, and on the other, severe periods of drought. The consequence is that the harvest fell by 8% in these two countries, with many fewer tonnages of beans. This had the consequence of increasing the price of cocoa on the markets.

A particularly strong increase.

Over one year, the increase is 130%. We are at very high thresholds here. However, it is important to distinguish between the increase in cocoa prices and that of sales prices to consumers. If the price increased by 130%, prices did not experience such a significant increase. For Easter 2024, we are instead looking at an increase in prices of around 5%, compared to Easter 2023. We are therefore, as you can see, on a controlled increase. It is all the more so since the context is inflationary. Sugar and energy have seen their prices increase sharply, I'm not telling you anything.

Are chocolate makers passing on this increase to their products ?

We are lucky, in France, to have chocolatiers who make great efforts to ensure that chocolate remains an accessible product. We have very varied prices, depending on the distribution locations. Everyone wants to have a good holiday, so everyone makes an effort. I remind you that, in our country, 98.5% of households consume chocolate. The French have a strong connection with chocolate.

There is, however, an increase in the price.

It is important to understand that the chocolates have been made for several months. At the time, the price was not as high as it is today. The impact of the increase observed today will not be felt until next Christmas, or even Easter 2025. But, I repeat, everyone is making efforts to ensure that chocolate remains an accessible product. What worries us more are the consequences for SMEs in the sector. This is the real challenge for the coming months. Our SMEs will face cash flow problems, which will need to be resolved. Our union also calls for supporting local cocoa producers, in Ivory Coast and Ghana, so that they adapt to new climatic conditions and face the diseases that result.

Until when should the price rise continue?

I can't say. It would, in any case, be risky to imagine a significant drop in the price of cocoa in the short term.

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