The makers of Hershey and Cadbury chocolates are planning more price hikes to cover a fresh record-setting surge in cocoa prices, even as inflation-hit consumers curb their purchases and company profits face a hit.

Decades of non-investment are coming home to roost.

Cocoa increased 4,014 USD/MT or 95.66% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Cocoa - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2024.

Major African cocoa plants in Ivory Coast and Ghana have stopped or cut processing because they cannot afford to buy beans, four trading sources said, meaning chocolate prices around the world are likely to soar.

The price chart for cocoa is something your algebra teacher would use to describe the term “exponential.”