Easter Eggflation bites as prices soar by two-thirds

"This Easter, the soaring price of our favourite chocolate treats is a clear reminder that the climate crisis is not a distant problem but a present-day cost. The extreme weather that has devastated cocoa harvests in West Africa and sent prices soaring is a direct consequence of our warming planet. 

“While commodity cocoa prices may be easing and people’s attention has moved on to conflict in Iran and the Gulf region, inaction on climate change has added hundreds of pounds to shopping bills in recent years [2], with chocolate just one of many foods impacted. This is a stark warning of things to come if we fail to bring emissions down to net zero and secure our supply chains from the growing risks of a volatile climate."

Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which produce around 60% of the world’s cocoa, have been devastated by climate impacts, including extreme rainfall in 2023 [3] that caused a disease outbreak and an intense drought and heatwave in 2024 that scientists linked to climate change [4]. The price and climate volatility has combined to damage the livelihoods of smallholders across the region [8].  Despite this, the UK’s own contribution to international climate finance is set to fall slightly over the next three years, risking existing programmes that support the  resilience of our food supply [9].

After peaking in mid-2025, global cocoa commodity prices have recently fallen [5], but this is yet to feed through to consumer prices. Most chocolate on shelves today was made from cocoa bought when prices were at record highs and consumer prices remain stubbornly high. In the past three years, chocolate prices in the UK are up 44%, a rise that far outstrips wage growth, making the nation's favourite treat less affordable.

UK consumers are feeling the pinch more than most. British households spend a larger share of their food budget on chocolate (6%) than households in the Eurozone (2.4%), meaning that when chocolate inflation bites, it has an outsized impact on household finances and headline inflation [6].

This is part of a wider picture of food price volatility. While climate change is one of the primary drivers of chocolate price spikes, the cost of the weekly shop is also being squeezed by geopolitical instability and our reliance on volatile fossil fuels [7]. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to pose a threat to global supply chains and energy markets, pushing up the price of key commodities, shipping costs, and the fossil fuels needed for farming, processing, and transport. This adds to the financial pressure on UK households at a time when wages are not keeping pace.