Chocolate prices rise on Valentine's Day as cocoa shortages rise

A bouquet of roses, dinner for two and a box of chocolates are the essential elements of a school Valentine's Day date. But lovers may face sticker shock this year due to rising cocoa and sugar prices.

Cocoa prices rose to all-time highs last week, as deteriorating weather and disease challenges devastate crop yields in Ghana and Ivory Coast, home to 60% of global production.

“This led to a decline in production and caused a shortage of cocoa supplies in the market,” said Sergey Chetvertakov, principal research analyst for cocoa and sugar markets at S&P Global. He said this is the third year in a row that cocoa supply has been in short supply, adding that it is not about to improve in the near future.

Cocoa futures are up nearly 40% year-to-date to hit an all-time intraday high of $5,874 per metric ton on Thursday.

“What's really driving all of this is the El Niño that's here now. It's really impacting the yield,” said David Branch, senior vice president of the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute.

He pointed out that this also affects sugar crops.

The El Niño weather phenomenon caused temperatures to rise in Southeast Asia, India and parts of Africa, leading to higher prices for soft commodities such as sugar and cocoa last year.

Chocolate and cocoa have historically been associated with Love and fertility Its history dates back to the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, which Introduced goods to Western Europe Through the Spanish conquistadors. Now, chocolate and Valentine's Day have become synonymous, even if critics say the association is perpetuated through marketing gimmicks.

But with stubborn global inflation, sweets also represent a more accessible way to join in the festivities. Kim, a 28-year-old woman living in Singapore, said she usually chooses to bake cakes for her loved ones on Valentine's Day instead.

“Besides capitalism… I think it might be because it's easier, like it's less expensive than going out to dinner or buying gifts,” she said. “Usually the metaphor is that you give a card and chocolates. I think it's easier to do something than to do nothing at all.”

But even outside of the annual love season, demand for chocolate remains relatively strong even during economic downturns, according to the Mintec food commodity price database.

“This may be in line with the human tendency to seek small pleasures during turbulent times, and chocolate is known to be a natural mood enhancer,” Mintik said in her report. Recent report.

Mintec's Valentine's Day Meal IndexPrices of popular Valentine's Day staples such as chocolate, lobster tails, beef and potatoes rose 13.8% year-on-year in January. The jump was driven by higher prices for lobster tails, the report said, which noted that the January average for lobster tails is 40% higher than last year as a result of a lack of production in key regions such as Maine and Canada.

Lobster prices are expected to remain high in February due to lower supplies from Canada and the United States, Mintec subsidiary Orner Barry said in a report released on February 8.

This year, Kim and her partner of six years opted for a simpler, more relaxed Valentine's Day dinner — a change of pace from the more elaborate eating of the early days of their relationship.

“I think it was new when I first started dating someone,” she said. “When I first started dating this guy, we had more expensive and more expensive dinners. But now it's like: 'Let's not waste the money.'