Kiel chocolate crisis: Prices are exploding – chocolates are hardly available anymore!

Kiel chocolate crisis: Prices are exploding – chocolates are hardly available anymore!

Kiel.In the 2fach pastry shop in Kiel, a new flyer is causing a stir: a cocoa bean and a dramatic price curve show the alarming reality of the cocoa crisis. Master confectioner Corinna Fleißer warns: “The world is in the biggest cocoa crisis known to date, and prices are exploding.” The effects are obvious: 100 grams of chocolates now cost 12.90 euros - an increase of 30 percent! Fleißer describes the situation as the most difficult since the Corona crisis, as prices have skyrocketed not only for cocoa, but also for essential ingredients such as cocoa butter.

The causes are alarming: poor harvests in West Africa and South America have led the major chocolate manufacturers to buy massive amounts of inventory, which is driving up prices further. Lydia Rahaus, who runs the organic confectionery Schokodeern in Kiel, has stopped producing her popular chocolates. “In order to sell them profitably, I would have to raise the price to 20 euros per 100 grams – no one pays that,” she explains frustratedly. Instead, she focuses on her café and plans to sell her best-selling cake at a higher price because it has a high cocoa content.

Kiel traders are also increasing prices for chocolate that they do not produce themselves

The price increases don't just affect artisan pastry shops. Oliver Hartleib from Tee-Kontor also reports an “incredible cocoa shortage”. The Austrian chocolate specialist Zotter has raised prices by ten percent, while the praline manufacturer Wagner has even become 20 percent more expensive. Customers accept the price increases for now, but the future remains uncertain. Fleißer expresses concerns for the period after the holidays, when large manufacturers can keep their prices stable while small companies struggle.