A chocolatier has told how the increasing price of raw ingredients to make the sweet treats has made the last 12 months “the worst trading period” since the business was founded in 1967.
John Slattery, owner of Slattery chocolatiers in Manchester said a reported four-fold increase in the price of cocoa was affecting the business “in every way”.
Extreme weather and under-investment in farms in West Africa have disrupted cocoa bean plantations, with reduced crop yields as a result.
However, Mr Slattery said he hoped supplies of chocolate will soon be duly replenished after what he described as a “good” forecast.
Cocoa trees, which only grow in a narrow band around the equator, are particularly vulnerable to changes in their climate.
Severe drought conditions hit the West African region in 2024, with high temperatures breaking records in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which are the world’s two biggest producers of cocoa beans.
In December 2023, the weather in both countries allowed a fungal infection called black pod disease to flourish, rotting beans on the trees.
“It is impacting us in every way, not just with the prices rises, but it’s all our overheads too,” Mr Slattery said.
“The utilities, the gas, water rates, have all impacted the cost which we’ve had to pass onto the customer.
“I’ve been doing this job for 58 years and this is the worst trading period I’ve ever experienced, and we’ve been through a couple of financial depressions.”
When asked what he felt the future held for the business, he said he was “certain we’ll get through this”.
Mr Slattery, who runs the business in Whitefield, added: “We’re hoping there will be something good on the horizon. The quantity of chocolate coming in looks like it’s increasing.”
