Cocoa Overtakes Bitcoin in Value: What's the Implication for Chocolate Companies?

By Thea Felicity

Mar 25, 2024 01:50 PM EDT

A peasant dries cocoa beans at a cocoa plantation in Guerima, Colombia, on December 2, 2022. - In Guerima, department of Vichada, at the gateway to the Colombian Amazon, former narco runways serve the farmers who abandoned illicit crops in this poor, unpopulated, and roadless region. For the past ten years, cocoa trees have been replacing coca bushes in this department the size of Guatemala, which borders Venezuela. It is far from the bonanza that brought cocaine's main ingredient, but it has become a stable source of income.
(Photo : Photo by DANIEL MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Cocoa prices become more expensive at a rapid rate, soaring to levels that outpace even the staggering growth of Bitcoin, just as Easter approaches.

According to Bloomberg, cocoa prices have nearly doubled in 2024 alone. This makes it an unprecedented surge that has surpassed the performance of the cryptocurrency in the past 12 months. Wholesale prices in New York have spiked by over 47% in recent weeks, reaching a staggering $8,900 per ton.

However, the swift rate of high cocoa prices raises concerns about potential hikes in the prices of Easter chocolates. Last year, we witnessed a 11.6% increase in chocolate prices in the US compared to 2022.

Chocolate companies like Hershey and Cadbury executives have voiced the possibility of consumer price hikes due to cocoa supply shortages intensified by heavy rains in West Africa, the primary region for cocoa cultivation.

Meanwhile, Michelle Buck, the president and CEO of The Hershey Company, announced during a February 8 earnings call that they would use various strategies, including pricing adjustments, to counter soaring cocoa prices.

What Do High Cocoa Prices Mean for Chocolate Companies?

Now, the rising prices of cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate, will likely urge chocolate companies to implement cost-cutting processes and robust customer service in case of complaints-as already reported by AP News.

However, one big issue is that chocolate companies might struggle to find enough cocoa beans at affordable prices. If cocoa prices keep going up, the suppliers might charge more or not have enough cocoa beans available, making it hard for chocolate companies to make enough chocolate to sell.

On the other hand, experts suggest chocolate companies invest in hedge funds, per Reuters. When cocoa bean prices are rising, as they have been recently, hedge funds can make money by buying cocoa beans at a lower price and selling them later at a higher price. As a result, chocolate companies can still make profits even if customer purchases decrease due to higher prices.

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