Cocoa prices and location factors cause problems for chocolate Santas
Production falls by 11
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The German confectionery industry produced around 146 million chocolate Santas and Santa Clauses for the Christmas season this year. Compared to last year's figure of 164 million, this represents a drop of -11%. This is the result of a recent survey conducted by the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) among its member companies for the 2025 Christmas season compared to the previous year.
"The crisis in Germany is not stopping at the popular chocolate Santas," says Dr. Carsten Bernoth, Managing Director of the BDSI. "Companies in Germany are groaning under cost burdens for important raw materials such as cocoa and nuts, but also for personnel, energy and bureaucracy. Added to this is the reluctance of consumers to spend."
Around 56% (around 82 million) of the chocolate Santas produced in Germany have been delivered to German food retailers, department stores and specialist retailers in Germany in recent weeks. Around 44% (approx. 64 million) of the chocolate Santas produced in Germany are exported, not only to neighboring European countries, but also to the USA, the UK and current summer destinations such as New Zealand and Australia. In contrast to the trend in Germany, exports of chocolate Santas remained stable (+1.4%), demonstrating a slight increase in international demand for chocolate Santas.
Price trends in the chocolate market remain complex. Even though cocoa prices on the international commodity exchanges have fallen recently, this does not automatically mean that chocolate products such as chocolate Santas will become cheaper in the short term. The price of cocoa is still at a historically high level despite the easing of the situation. It is not yet clear whether the recent price falls will last.
The German confectionery industry points out that a variety of market mechanisms and structural factors influence pricing. Basically, the following applies: the end consumer prices for foods such as chocolate are set by food retailers. Manufacturers have no direct influence on this. Raw material price developments, whether rising or falling, also only have an impact with a time lag due to the complex supply chains. It usually takes several months for price changes on the commodity markets to reach the end product. Another important factor is the forward selling system in the main cocoa-growing countries of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. There, the cocoa harvest is sold by the state on average twelve months in advance. As a result, the producers' actual purchase prices always lag behind the current market prices.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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