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CANDY hauls may look different this Halloween thanks to skyrocketing cocoa costs, industry leaders warn.
Chocolate giants like Hershey and Mars are expected to lighten variety packs and shrink candy bars after cocoa prices doubled.
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Growing cocoa is an incredibly sensitive process, and farmers have had a difficult time dealing with weather conditions this year.
Under the best circumstances, it is difficult to find as the beans mainly grow in West Africa in countries like Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
For about three years now, these areas have been hit hard by climate pattern El Niño which has brought on dryer conditions.
Now, supplies are dwindling, and candy makers are fighting over what’s left of this year’s crop.
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“Cocoa is not like a normal agriculture crop where you have it grown everywhere, like other commodities,” David Branch, sector manager at Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Insitute, told CNN.
“It takes a very specific site and temperature range to grow.”
According to the International Cocoa Organization, global production is expected to fall 14.2% this season.
Chocolate companies felt the pressure earlier this year during Valentine’s Day and Easter, when cocoa was half the price it is now.
Michele Buck, the president of Hershey, told analysts in an earnings call the company’s operating profit nosedived 48.7% compared to last year.
However, Hershey says Halloween prices shouldn’t be affected by the change, and crops look good for next season.
“So far we’re having really decent weather for this year’s crop,” Branch said.
“It will start helping to boost supply, so that’s why we expect that the prices will come down.”
NOT-SO-SWEET SPOT
Consumers have noticed an uptick in chocolate prices since the cocoa supply declined, and some are devising creative solutions to save money this Halloween.
One parent admitted that he would be handing out chips this year as a money-saving solution to the inflationary price, he told Canadian outlet CHCH.
Companies are also working to keep prices low by focusing on making more candies without chocolate, industry experts told CNN.
Meanwhile, chocolate variety packs are expected to be smaller until cocoa production catches up in September 2025.
Branch said that “shrinkflation” – the practice of downsizing portions while keeping the same price – is affecting bags of chocolate.
“You get a two-pound bag of a mixture of all these different candies from a company,” she said.
“Well, that bag is probably going down to be less than two pounds now at the same price point.”
Companies may also change their recipes to remove chocolate entirely from candies and replace a layer with nuts or wafers.
But despite the changes, chocolate remains the most popular candy – and there will be no shortage of it on the shelves this Halloween.
