12-02-2025
Chocolate prices soar ahead of Valentine's Day
(CBS NEWSPATH) — The sweetest holiday of the year is just days away and grocery stores shelves are full of love. But the price of valentine's day chocolates this year may leave some with a bitter taste.
The United States is the world's largest importer of chocolate. According to the USDA, between 2017-2021, the U.S. imported roughly $2.8 billion worth of chocolate per year.
Those prices have only climbed, making some shoppers think twice, but why?
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TAZA Chocolates pays a premium for fair trade cocoa from countries like the Dominican Republic to Ghana and Uganda.
'It's been a pretty significant jump,' TAZA Chocolates Team Member Christine Vistro said. 'A lot of the worlds cocoa comes from West Africa. The Ivory Coast and Ghana produce 70% of all the cocoa produced in the world today.'
According to Vistro, recent climate challenges have shrunk crops.
'West Africa had a big drought in their crop in 2023 it was really wet in 2024 and because of the smaller crop we've seen a big increase in cocoa prices,' Vistro said.
This more than doubles the cost of importing beans for this Somerville small business, a cost that trickles down to the customers.
'Whatever is happening at their crop is going to affect the market as a whole,' Vistro said.
Still, they're willing to pay for ethically sourced high-quality cocoa, processed in house from bean to bar.
'A lot of cocoa that ends up in commodity products is more affordable. We are paying a premium to get high quality cocoa,' Vistro said.
Vistro's advice for Valentines Day shoppers is to spring for the real thing if you're buying chocolate for your sweet heart.
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