Chocolate prices rose at fastest pace on record in May: comment

“It’s no surprise that chocolate prices are up. Ivory Coast and Ghana have been pummelled by climate impacts over the past few years, going from too-wet conditions in 2023 that drove an outbreak of black pod disease [2] to an extreme heatwave last year that scientists say was made 4°C hotter by climate change [3]. 
 
"Ivory Coast was the UK’s top supplier last year, accounting for 84% - or 48 million kilograms worth £135 million - of the cocoa beans we imported. Ghana provided a further 14%, or 8 million kilograms worth £23 million. Together, they supply around 60% of the world’s cocoa [4].
 
"But it’s not even like we can switch supplier to avoid climate impacts. ECIU analysis of data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has shown that almost all cocoa globally (99.9%) is grown in countries highly vulnerable to climate change [5]. The average price the UK paid per kilo for cocoa beans from all sources went up by a third (32%) from 2022 to 2024 [6] in response to extreme weather in producer countries.

"Until we get to net zero emissions, to stop adding planet-heating gases to the atmosphere, the risks to our food system will only grow – as well as prices for consumers.”

Notes to editors: 

1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/datasets/consumerpriceinflation
 
2. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-12-01/climate-change-in-ivory-coast-and-ghana-makes-chocolate-expensive-everywhere?embedded-checkout=true
 
3. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/dangerous-humid-heat-in-southern-west-africa-about-4c-hotter-due-to-climate-change/ [The impact of extreme weather continues to feed through to prices even after the event has ended because it affects the planting and growing of subsequent crops.] 
 
4. https://mediacentre.christianaid.org.uk/cocoa-crisis-climate-change-threat-to-chocolate-laid-bare-in-new-report-ahead-of-valentines-day/
 
5. https://eciu.net/analysis/reports/2023/climate-impacts-on-uk-food-imports-2
 
6. https://eciu.net/analysis/reports/2025/climate-impacts-on-cocoa

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net