Easter eggs became smaller and rose in price as cocoa prices reached their highest level in 40 years
CHOCOLATE makers are shrinking Easter eggs and raising prices – as the cost of cocoa has hit a 40-year high.
Storms and disease have devastated crops in Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa, and experts predict the problem will get worse.
Record prices will take off as last year’s cocoa producers run out of cocoa, meaning Brits will start paying more even as food inflation fall.
According to data from market researcher Assosia for The Sun, a 220g Kinder Surprise Giant Egg now costs £13.13 – a 16.7 per cent increase on last year’s £11.25, and a Lindt Lindor milk chocolate egg from 215 grams costs £9.50 – 22.5 per cent more than £7.75.
The prices of Thorntons, Ferrero Rocher and Maltesers eggs have also risen.
A Cadbury Dairy Milk Easter Egg has now shrunk from 286 grams to 245 grams, according to analysis by major supermarket chains.
On the financial markets, the cocoa price in February was £5,258 per tonne, but in 2023 it will be £2,093.
The International Cocoa Organization predicts a 10.9 percent drop in production by 2024 and a global shortage.
Cadbury owner Mondelez International said it faced significantly higher input costs, particularly for ingredients such as cocoa and sugar, making the products “much more expensive to make”.
It said: “As a result, we have made a number of deliberate cost increases to our Easter range.”
Analysts said some companies were trying to cut costs by filling eggs and bars with nuts, caramel or other flavors to reduce the cocoa content.
WET FEB IS HIGH ST WASHOUT
THE wettest February on record was a disaster for the High Street.
Total retail sales rose just 1.1 percent, significantly less than the 5.2 percent growth in February last year and the three-month average increase of 1.4 percent, the figures showed.
Analysts said once 4 percent inflation is removed, sales volumes would come under severe pressure.
Non-food sales – fashion, furniture and electrical goods – fell by 2.5 percent.
Food sales increased by 6 percent, but this was less than last year and average spending over the past twelve months.
Helen Dickinson, boss of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Consumer demand was dampened by the wettest February on record.
“Even Valentine’s Day did not lift customers out of the gloomy situation, and products that usually sell well, such as jewelry and watches, did not make any profit. “
SLUMP DAY GIRL
2
THE music royalty fund that owns the rights to songs including Blondie’s Sunday Girl and tunes from Red Hot Chili Peppers has been given another bad note by investors after its valuation was slashed by a quarter.
HIPGNOSIS, which has spent billions buying thousands of song rights, said an independent audit put it at a valuation of £1.52 billion, around 26 percent lower than in September.
It is another blow to the FTSE 250 Songs fund, which had promised investors a steady, low-risk income from song royalties. Instead, the company has suffered shareholder revolts and legal battles with founder Merck Mercuriadis.
Shares fell nearly 10 percent yesterday.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mold said: “Hipgnosis has been cast aside as a one-hit wonder boy band.”
POLLUTION WHILE SHEIN IS ASKED
RETAIL leaders have attacked the chancellor’s attempts to persuade Shein to list in London, accusing the fast-fashion giant of taking advantage of tax loopholes.
Last week it emerged that Jeremy Hunt had met with Shein’s chairman Donald Tang to lure him to London
The company, recently valued at £50 billion, ships its cheap clothes from Chinese factories to shoppers in small parcels, meaning it pays no import duties.
Major companies said they had not competed on a level playing field.
The Retail Sector Council, which includes bosses from Boots, Amazon and Sainsbury’s, has been leading the criticism and has accused Shein of exploiting the tax system, according to The Telegraph.
M&S BOSS APPEALS TO GOVT
GOVERNMENT policies make running a retailer ‘like walking up an escalator with a backpack on your back’, the head of MARKS & SPENCER claimed yesterday.
Stuart Machin said on LinkedIn that the government has work to do to better understand the retail sector, which employs three million people and pays £17 billion in taxes.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Budget, Machin called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut annual business rates in line with the lower inflation rate of 4 percent, from the current 7 percent.
Mr Machin also urged the Chancellor to bring back duty-free shopping for tourists and widen the scope of the apprenticeship levy.
The pleas come as retailers compete to raise wages to retain workers, raising fears of higher inflation.
Electrical chain Currys is raising its minimum wage to £12 per hour.
SHIPPING RECORD
Shipping company Clarksons made record profits last year despite the disruption of the Red Sea.
It posted an 8.2 percent increase in pre-tax profits to £109.2 million, while revenues rose 5 percent.
Shipping companies charge higher fees and arrange longer voyages to prevent ships from being attacked by Houthi rebels in the Suez Canal.
Clarkson’s chief Andi Case said he was optimistic about “the short, medium and long-term future” of the company.