Why it's bad news for Easter egg lovers this year

Chocolate lovers have been warned to expect an Easter price spike after the cost of cocoa soared to a record high.

The cocoa bean traded above 10,000 dollars (£7,900) a tonne on world commodity markets on Tuesday, with prices having already doubled this year. It follows poor harvests caused by unusual weather.

Last week, the price of cocoa beans hit more than 8,200 dollars (approximately £6,500) per tonne up from 2,600 dollars this time last year.

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Some popular Easter eggs from brands including Maltesers, Lindt and Cadbury cost at least 50 per cent more than a year ago while others have shrunk in size, according to a study by consumer group Which?.

The overall price of chocolate has increased by 12.6pc in a year significantly more than the 5.6pc rise seen on supermarket food and drink generally, according to the Which? supermarket food and drink inflation tracker.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), an environmental non-profit organisation, has set out how the combination of climate change and El Nino conditions have helped drive up cocoa prices ahead of Easter. The world's largest cocoa exporters Ivory Coast and Ghana have been hit by extreme weather in recent months.

According to an analysis from World Weather Attribution last week, climate change made a February heatwave in West Africa 10 times more likely.

Ivory Coast and Ghana saw heavy rains in December 2023, with total precipitation more than double the 30-year average for the time of year, which affected yields due to issues like cocoa plants rotting with black pod disease.

The wet conditions were followed by droughts typical of El Nino conditions in February, which further decimated yields