Dutch people will have to dig deeper this year to buy the traditional gift everyone gets for Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) on December 6 - chocolate letters.
The price of cocoa, the main product for chocolate letters, has risen by 25 percent compared to last year due to poor harvests, inflation and a volatile market fueled by speculation, reports the. "Financiele Dagbrad".
The price of cocoa, which for years has held steady at around USD 3,000 per tonne, rose to USD 12,000 in April before falling to USD 7,000.
Excessive rains caused by climate change and subsequent cocoa tree diseases have devastated crops in Ghana and Ivory Coast, the main producers. The two countries produce 70% of all cocoa in the world. Also, many of the cocoa trees in these countries are old, which could lead to even greater shortages in the future.
Higher prices of fertilizers and pesticides also reduced production, and speculation further increased the price of cocoa. Increased demand from markets such as Asia also lifted prices.
According to a report by "Rabobank" (Rabobank) A 100-gram chocolate bar, which now sells for just under EUR 3 in supermarkets, could easily increase in price by EUR 1 because of the poor harvest. This also affects the Dutch's favorite chocolate letters. It is expected that they are 20-25 percent more expensive.
According to the financial analyst of "Rabobank" Julia Büch rising cocoa prices may cause manufacturers to reduce the size of chocolate products or the volume of cocoa they contain to keep the price down. "This also applies to chocolate letters,", she specifies.