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Chocolate Prices High Before Christmas Despite Cocoa Fall

Producers harvest cocoa on a plantation in Agboville, in the Agneby-Tiassa region of Ivory Coast, on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP)
Producers harvest cocoa on a plantation in Agboville, in the Agneby-Tiassa region of Ivory Coast, on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP)
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Chocolate Prices High Before Christmas Despite Cocoa Fall

Producers harvest cocoa on a plantation in Agboville, in the Agneby-Tiassa region of Ivory Coast, on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP)
Producers harvest cocoa on a plantation in Agboville, in the Agneby-Tiassa region of Ivory Coast, on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP)

After soaring for nearly two years, cocoa prices dropped sharply in 2025. However, chocolate, in demand ahead of the festive holiday season, has seen prices rise.

AFP examines the reasons for the divergence and the current state of the cocoa market.
Ivory Coast and Ghana are the world's biggest suppliers of pods -- the fruit of the cocoa tree -- from which cocoa beans are extracted to make chocolate.

The two west African countries account for more than half of global production, with most of the remainder coming from Brazil, Cameroon, Ecuador, Indonesia and Nigeria.

The geographic concentration of plantations makes the cocoa market highly vulnerable to West Africa's weather patterns and tree diseases.

Cultivation is meanwhile carried out by a very large number of independent smallholders.

Cocoa harvests between 2021 and 2024 failed to meet demand, which sent prices soaring.

"That was the result of ... supply side issues like ageing trees, the spread of swollen shoot virus (and) the spread of black pot disease" in Ghana and Ivory Coast, Rabobank analyst Oran van Dort told AFP.

Low usage of fertilizer and pesticides, owing to farmers' low incomes, also contributed, he added.

In December 2024, cocoa prices reached $12,000 per ton in New York trading, having stood at between $1,000 and $4,000 since the 1980s.

In Ghana and Ivory Coast, cocoa prices -- which rose significantly this year after having remained unchanged for a long time -- are set by the countries' respective governments.

"For the first time in years, I feel like we are farming with the government behind us, not on our own," Ghanaian producer Kwame Adu, 52, told AFP.

Higher income has allowed producers to buy fertilizer and machinery, improving their harvests -- and to plant new trees.

"Last year went well because as the cocoa was to bear fruit the rains came," Jean Kouassi, a 50-year-old Ivorian farmer, told AFP.

He owns plantations measuring four hectares, the size of nearly six football pitches.

"Record-high raw material costs (have) forced chocolate manufacturers into a series of unpopular choices: shrinkflation, price increases and the quiet dilution of cocoa content," noted Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.

UK snack brand McVitie's recently disclosed that Penguin and Club bars are no longer classed as chocolate having reduced their cocoa content because of elevated prices.
They are instead each described as "chocolate flavor".

It is a major reversal especially for Club, whose advertising campaigns carried the slogan: "If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit, join our club."

Chocolate giants Ferrero, Mars, Mondelez and Nestle have meanwhile seen demand weaken, having raised the prices of their treats.

However, cocoa prices have retreated strongly compared to one year ago, with New York prices at around $6,000 per ton.

"The current slump arrives far too late to affect Christmas assortments already produced and priced months ago," said Hansen.

Nestle told AFP that "it is still too early to comment on specific changes regarding prices" in the wake of cocoa's drop.

"Recent shifts in cocoa prices are encouraging, but the market remains volatile," it added.

There is hope, however, for Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies set to hit shop shelves soon after Christmas, said Hansen -- but only if the market stabilizes around current levels, he added.

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Varieties

Children's Art Supplies Enter into Gaza for First Time in Two Years

A painting drawn by artists is seen at a house destroyed by Israel, in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
A painting drawn by artists is seen at a house destroyed by Israel, in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
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Children's Art Supplies Enter into Gaza for First Time in Two Years

A painting drawn by artists is seen at a house destroyed by Israel, in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
A painting drawn by artists is seen at a house destroyed by Israel, in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

The UN children's agency (UNICEF) told AFP on Friday that it was able to bring recreational supplies including notebooks, crayons and art materials into the war-scarred Gaza Strip for the first time in more than two years.

Since the start of the war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, humanitarian organizations have repeatedly denounced major difficulties bringing equipment and supplies into the Palestinian territory, blaming Israeli restrictions.

Israel rejects those accusations, saying it oversees the entry of goods into Gaza to ensure its security.

UNICEF's announcement comes after the United States announced in mid-January the launch of phase two of President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire in effect since October 2025.

"Since Thursday 15 January, 5,168 recreational kits have entered the Strip, supporting more than 375,000 children -- including 1,000 children with disabilities," UNICEF said in a statement.

COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, told AFP it was not in a position to comment immediately.

Phase two of Trump's peace plan aims at paving the way for Gaza's reconstruction including the gradual restoration of public services, but does not include specifics about the school system which has been largely paralysed for more than two years.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, US officials presented their vision for a "New Gaza" that would turn the shattered Palestinian territory into a glitzy resort of skyscrapers by the sea, saying the transformation could emerge in three years.

The issue of education was not mentioned among priorities for "the next 100 days".

UNICEF official Ted Chaiban, who visited Gaza this week, called for the authorisation to bring all other educational and early childhood development supplies into the territory.

Quoted in the UNICEF statement, he said these would provide children "with the most basic materials they need to be able to learn".

Humanitarian officials have told AFP they have not obtained authorisation from Israel to bring in school supplies.

AFP correspondents in the Gaza Strip say they have seen school supplies sold on the private market at exorbitant prices.

Varieties

Massive Winter Storm Threatens Heavy Snow, Freezing Rain, to More than 170 million People Across US

A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a roadway Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a roadway Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
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Massive Winter Storm Threatens Heavy Snow, Freezing Rain, to More than 170 million People Across US

A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a roadway Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a roadway Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Texas and Oklahoma braced for heavy snow and ice that could make roadways treacherous Friday in what is expected to be some of the initial effects of a huge, dayslong winter storm threatening catastrophic damage, extensive power outages and bitterly cold weather to more than 170 million people across the nation, the National Weather Service says — about half the population.

A combination of heavy snow, freezing rain and sleet is in store from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday, the agency said.

And even when that's over, a round of extremely cold air will hit areas of the Southern Plains to the Northeast next week, the weather service said.

More than 800 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed or canceled for Friday in advance of the storm, including at airports in Dallas, Atlanta, and Oklahoma, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware, according to The AP news.

Oklahoma's Department of Transportation pretreated roads with salt brine. The state Highway Patrol canceled days off for troopers so more will be out assist and said it was partnering with the National Guard to send teams out to help stranded drivers.

“Travel is going to become more and more treacherous starting late Friday afternoon and lasting through the rest of the weekend,” the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, posted online.

Oklahoma City Public Schools officials canceled all classes and activities Friday due to predicted deteriorating road conditions. Frigid temperatures closed Houston schools Friday with an e-learning day for public school students. In Dallas, schools were expected to open, but officials said after-school activities were canceled Friday and throughout the weekend.

In the Houston area, a utility company had 3,300 employees ready to work the winter storm.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire posted online. “We’re hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.”

Snow, freezing rain, sleet and low temps for many The massive storm system is expected to bring a crippling ice storm from Texas through parts of the South, potentially more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow from Oklahoma through Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, and then a final punch of bitterly cold air that could drop wind chills to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 46 Celsius) in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Forecasters are warning the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. Many people were under winter storm or cold weather watches or warnings — and in many places both.

Cold air streaming down from Canada caused Chicago Public Schools and Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa to cancel classes Friday, as well. Wind chills predicted to be as low as minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 37 Celsius) could cause frostbite within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus.

The cold punch coming after means it will take a while to thaw out, an especially dangerous prospect in places where ice and snow weighs down tree branches and power lines and cuts electricity, perhaps for days. Roads and sidewalks could remain icy well into next week.

Ice can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them more susceptible to snapping, especially in windy weather.

Freezing temperatures are expected all the way to Florida, forecasters said.

A severe cold snap five years ago took down much of the power grid in Texas, leaving millions without power for days and resulting in hundreds of deaths. Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that won't happen again, saying the power system “has never been stronger.”

Winter storms can be notoriously tricky to forecast, with forecasters saying the places with the worst weather can't be pinned down until the event starts.

States of emergency declared in Georgia and Mississippi Governors in Georgia and Mississippi have declared states of emergency.

In Huntsville, Alabama, employees from Jomo’s Power Equipment, Parts & Service Inc. sold dozens of generators within about a day and ordered an emergency shipment to meet customer demand.

“I’d say 95% of the calls were generator-related or either service or ‘Do you have any generators in stock,’” Bryan Hill, the store's manager, said Thursday.

Lindsay Sylvester in Toney, Alabama, stocked up early in the week on bread and other supplies at her home and sent her son, who is in college, bread, gloves, candles and hand warmers.

Sylvester said she went to the store early in the week because she knew supplies would be depleted close to the weekend.

“A couple of people I heard talking about they had gone to Walmart and there was no milk, no bread,” she said. “All the necessities were gone.”

As a precaution, North Carolina’s largest public school system prepared for potentially several days out of physical classrooms next week, telling its teachers to create three days of assignments accessible online or through paper copies.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger told residents to prepare for days without power or the ability to leave their neighborhoods. And in a nod to the politics of the time, the newly inaugurated Democrat said people should not be scared to call 911 in an emergency just because of the immigration crackdowns going on in places like Minnesota.

Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesperson Dave Parker pleaded for people to be patient and stay home if possible once the storm hits.

At a busy grocery store near downtown Dallas, Kennedi Mallard and Frank Green loaded two shopping carts full of supplies into their car. They said there were some bare shelves inside.

“No water, no eggs, no butter, no ground meat,” Green said.

 

 

 

Varieties

Long-Awaited First Snowfall Brings Relief to Water-Scarce Kabul

An Afghan man rides a bicycle along a road during snowfall in the green zone area of Kabul on January 22, 2026. (AFP)
An Afghan man rides a bicycle along a road during snowfall in the green zone area of Kabul on January 22, 2026. (AFP)
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Long-Awaited First Snowfall Brings Relief to Water-Scarce Kabul

An Afghan man rides a bicycle along a road during snowfall in the green zone area of Kabul on January 22, 2026. (AFP)
An Afghan man rides a bicycle along a road during snowfall in the green zone area of Kabul on January 22, 2026. (AFP)

Children sliding around on plastic bags, boys engaging in lively snowball fights, and families taking selfies on white-covered streets: residents of Kabul rejoiced on Friday at the long-awaited first snowfall of the winter.

Snow usually comes to the Afghan capital in December, but its six million inhabitants are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, which has brought rising temperatures and water shortages that have disrupted daily life.

"In recent years, snow in Kabul has felt like nothing less than a blessing," 22-year-old Rukhsar Adel told AFP.

She and her family eagerly checked the weather forecast the night before and felt "happy and relieved" when white flakes started to fall on Thursday morning.

Kabul may run out of ground water by as early as 2030 due to climate change and rapid urbanization, studies show.

A United Nations projection also indicates that nearly half of Kabul's boreholes -- the primary source of drinking water for residents -- are already dry.

"More than half of the winter had already passed without snowfall. People became worried and even prayed for snow," Adel said.

- Hope for water -

"We all need water, and there is a lack of water in Kabul," said 32-year-old Hekmatullah Ahady, adding that a 100-meter-deep (330-foot) well at his house dried up last year.

He said he hoped the snow would help to replenish water levels and make it easier for his family to get water.

Plus, he said, seeing the city blanketed in white was "so nice", even though his commute to work took longer.

Severe storms and heavy rains have killed at least 15 people, including children, across Afghanistan in the last three days, officials have said, though there have been no reported casualties in Kabul.

Heavy snow both in the provinces and the capital has caused traffic accidents, with rescue teams mobilized all night to give assistance, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

In a change from Kabul's traffic-clogged streets, people enjoyed a rare dose of quiet as some drivers left their cars unused.

Boys took full advantage, hurling snowballs at each other along roadsides and in alleys, while small crowds gathered at street stalls to buy warm soup or coffee.