The price of Britain's favourite chocolate treats could be set to soar by up to a third by Christmas after a crippling rise in cocoa butter and other costs, experts have revealed.
And it could add as much as 21p to every 100g of milk chocolate, spelling an inflation busting rise in everything from advert calendars to chocolate gift packs to everyday indulgences.
The cost of producing chocolate soared by 33 per cent in the last year thanks to a 70 per cent rise in the price of cocoa butter, 50 per cent to milk powder and 15 per cent to whey powder.
Both cocoa powder and sugar prices have fallen but they account for a much smaller proportion of production costs, said the report by analysts for trade journal The Grocer.
So far only some of the rising costs have been passed on by some chocolate makers, from 7.5 per cent on a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk to 14.3 per cent to a box of Quality Street.
But with the peak time of year fast approaching, there may be more price rises to come ahead of the Christmas rush.
And it could add as much as 21p to every 100g of milk chocolate, spelling an inflation busting rise in everything from advert calendars to chocolate gift packs to everyday indulgences.
The cost of producing chocolate soared by 33 per cent in the last year thanks to a 70 per cent rise in the price of cocoa butter, 50 per cent to milk powder and 15 per cent to whey powder.
Both cocoa powder and sugar prices have fallen but they account for a much smaller proportion of production costs, said the report by analysts for trade journal The Grocer.
So far only some of the rising costs have been passed on by some chocolate makers, from 7.5 per cent on a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk to 14.3 per cent to a box of Quality Street.
But with the peak time of year fast approaching, there may be more price rises to come ahead of the Christmas rush.