Cocoa Bean Crunch

With the impact of raw material costs rising and the depreciation of the yen now considered the norm, food prices have surged. April saw increases across 2,806 items, the largest scale since October last year, with chocolate products among those garnering significant attention.

Toshihito Uchida, president of Fresh Market Aoi, observed, "Compared to four or five years ago, I believe prices have risen by about 30%."

Morinaga Confectionery announced up to an 18% price hike in products like Dars, starting with April shipments. "Morinaga's Choco Balls, originally priced at 88 yen, are now 98 yen (excluding tax), marking roughly a 10% increase," Uchida noted.

Similarly, Meiji plans to effectively raise prices by reducing the content of "Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato bags" from 12 to 8 bags in June, equating to a 33% decrease in product size.

Shoppers are feeling the pinch. "You hear about products getting smaller. I hope the prices don’t climb too much. I want to continue feeding my kids, but we might have to cut back," said one shopper. Another expressed concern, "The things I want are getting more expensive. It's becoming harder to buy what I want...what should I do?"

Supermarkets are also troubled by the need to increase prices. "We've had to reduce the number of sales, making it difficult to sell products cheaply. When you see children, who used to buy two items now only able to afford one or choosing something else because what they usually buy is too expensive, it's truly disheartening," said Uchida.

But why have prices escalated to this extent? The root cause lies in the global shortage of cocoa beans.

According to Bloomberg, adverse weather in West Africa, which accounts for the majority of the world's cocoa production, has led to a projected global supply shortage for the third consecutive year. This year, cocoa bean futures prices have more than doubled, astonishingly surpassing the price of copper.

This surge in cocoa prices has forced not just supermarkets but also specialty stores to strategize.

Hotel Chocolat NU Chayamachi Plus Store in Osaka City offers over 80 cocoa-centric products, including a Cocoa Frappe (650 yen with tax) and Husk Milk (600 yen with tax), made from cocoa husks usually discarded. Although the store has not yet felt the impact of rising cocoa prices, efforts are being made to maintain sales prices. "In the next three to six months, we might see some effects. Cocoa is a truly precious commodity, so we use every part of it. We aim to prevent product loss and continue offering our products at the current prices," said store manager Mai Ito.

The wave of price hikes is bitter indeed, and it seems the sweetness of chocolate will come at a higher cost.

Source: MBS