Cacao prices reduced by 33% in 2025.
After reaching an all-time high in 2024, global cacao prices are finally beginning to ease dropping by 33% this year. Prices, which peaked at £16,382 per ton by the end of 2024 have declined, falling to just under £6,000 per ton in early 2025.
Despite this decrease, retail chocolate prices in the UK continue to reflect the supply chain pressures. For example the price of a Twix White Chocolate Easter Egg at Tesco rose from £5 to £6 year-over-year in the lead-up to Easter. (Bitter truth: Why has chocolate become so expensive) Not only was there seen to be a price increase, but also a size reduction from 316g to 258g, further impacting consumers buying.
The impacts of a higher chocolate cost, has forced brands to think differently, to keep costs down and in line with production flow. Thus introducing Dubai chocolate, a major surge on social media, a chocolate with a filling made of kadayif and pistachio. Cutting down their need for cocoa, and other brands are following suit with Nestle introducing a hazelnut flavour to their Areo line of chocolate bars. Other companies are focusing promotion on products with less cocoa or with substitute ingredients.
According to Amber Sawyer, an analyst at the environmental think tank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), expensive chocolate should not come as a surprise. “Chocolate is just one of the many foods being made more expensive by climate change-driven extreme weather,” she said. “These extremes will keep getting worse.”
This raises the big question: Why did they rise in the first place?
The key production region, West Africa, experienced a combination of climate events and systemic production challenges. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have a high yield of cacao, producing around 60% of the world’s cacao. This caused a 14% drop in output through 2023/24. Some of the main issues were:
Harmattan winds, dry, dusty trade winds from the northeast, caused stalled harvest due to disrupted flowering and pod development.
New deforestation laws across West Africa stopped the expansion of cocoa farming.
An outbreak of planet diseases like, the cacao swollen shoot virus reducing farmers yields
The rise in seed prices, as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, caused strains on farmers’ abilities.
There has been a shift from farming to gold mining and rubber production. Many farmers are selling land to illegal miners in pursuit of gold.
What’s next?
Overall, the cacao prices are decreasing finally and with hopes to planting in places like Brazil and Colombia, the price should stay steady. This being said, consumers won’t see costs changing till a later date. It’s clear that the climate and pressures on supply chain is causing crisis in the cocoa sector. View a blog post on how our climate can impact food security here.
Further reading and sources
What is going on with cocoa so far in 2025
Cocoa prices drop over 30 in 2025 after last year’s record high