Falling cocoa prices have, paradoxically, led to falling profits for the world’s largest chocolate maker.
Cocoa prices surged in 2023 and 2024, but have since fallen steeply. Swiss firm Barry Callebaut, which supplies chocolate to food giants such as Nestlé and Unilever, bought cocoa at the higher rates, but — because its contracts with buyers tie chocolate prices to cocoa’s current level — it must now sell the resulting chocolate cheaply.
Normally such contracts insulate it from price swings, but the speed of the drop has left it selling cheap chocolate made from expensive beans. The problem is exacerbated because retail chocolate prices are still high, so consumer demand is low, and the industry has too much manufacturing capacity, creating an oversupply.