Considered a generic commodity, regardless of its origin or quality, cocoa is traded on the stock market. After an unprecedented rise of more than 400% in just a few months between 2023 and 2024, its price continues to fluctuate wildly, and markets are hoping for stabilization in 2027.
The cause ? Two consecutive poor harvests in the two countries that produce 60% of the world's cocoa, a sharp increase in demand (especially in Asia), and stocks at an all-time low. The result: skyrocketing prices... and speculators adding to the mix.
But the problem isn’t new. For more than 30 years, cocoa has been undervalued by an highly concentrated chocolate oligopoly, imposing low prices and abusive conditions on producers. The result: depleted soils, impoverished farmers... and now, a shortage.
The rise in cocoa prices therefore reflects the urgent need to change current practices in the agri-food sector. At €2 per bar of chocolate sold in supermarkets, it is inevitable that someone in the production chain is being exploited. And it is never the trader, the manufacturer, or the distributor... It is time for farmers to be able to make a living from their work and invest in their farms by selling their cocoa at a fair price.
On the PLAQ side
We do not buy any cocoa on the stock market. For the past six years, we have been working exclusively with specialty cocoa beans, grown using agroforestry methods, at fair and stable prices, in direct contact with our producers.
But even these partners, who are keen to preserve the quality of their beans and their land, have had to adjust their prices significantly.
While cocoa on the stock market has quadrupled in a year, rising from €2.50 to €10 per kg, the price of our cocoa has doubled, rising from an average price of €8 to €16 per kg. This is an increase that we can only absorb by constantly adjusting the selling price of our chocolate.
PLAQ has chosen the most uncompromising path:
The best beans in the world, traceable and sourced exclusively from agroforestry,
The purest recipe (no additives) and no cocoa butter added to dark chocolate,
Low sugar content (organic and blond),
CSR with all our Parisian suppliers and employees.
This guiding principle, with quality and taste at its heart, will not change. Being both epicureans and activists is a choice that comes at a price. Thank you for supporting us in this endeavor.
If you are interested in this topic, we recommend listening to this interview and reading this article.
Sandra and Nicolas
