Aussies were horrified by the ‘ridiculous’ prices for Easter eggs with some gifts costing over $200, and even a single Ferrero Rocher will set you back $2.08
- Lindt’s Easter Bunny found at an IGA for $122
- 92 Ferrer Rocher are $200 at Woolworths
Australian shoppers were shocked by supermarket prices for chocolates in the run-up to Easter.
One Woolworths shopper found a 200g Cadbury-produced Easter egg for $20, while another found a 92 Ferrero Rochers pyramid cone in the supermarket for $200.
That works out to $2.08 for each chocolate in the cone.
Another buyer at IGA reported finding a 1kg Lindt Easter Bunny for $122.
Buyers took to Reddit to bemoan the inflated prices, posting: “A must-see Easter deal – welcome to the $20 egg.”
While Easter-themed chocolates are often more expensive as the holiday approaches, inflation and rising production costs have further exacerbated the price.
Easter-themed chocolates have been found in supermarkets at eye-popping prices due to the combination of the rising costs of chocolate production and the rising rate of inflation.
Other social media users expressed surprise at the prices of the Easter treats, with some wondering if they had gotten the price wrong.
‘Good god. I remember 10 years ago, I ordered the 1kg egg as a joke and it was $25, and I thought it was a stupidly expensive option,” wrote one surprised user.
‘This, I don’t think so. What’s going on? Over a hundred dollars for a Lindt bunny!? In this economy!? Tell them they are dreaming, ”he wrote a second.
“No, surely a typo,” wrote a third.
“They’re just screwing us over right now,” wrote a fourth.
Another user said he had worked at Woolworths over Easter last year and claimed that Ferrero Rochers pyramid cones ‘do not sell at all’ and end up damaged.
A 92 Ferrer Rochers cone was found at Woolworths priced at $200
The cost of chocolate has soared after droughts in the world’s biggest producer, Côte d’Ivoire, severely affected production last year.
Retail expert Gary Mortimer told 7News that Easter eggs have always cost more than other chocolates due to the cost of producing complex shapes.
Aside from rising inflation, chocolate prices around the world rose last year after droughts in West Africa’s Ivory Coast hampered cocoa production.
According to Al Jazeera, Côte d’Ivoire produces about 45 percent of the world’s chocolate, but only receives about four percent of the world’s $100 billion in annual revenue from chocolate sales.
Researchers at Harvard University estimate that due to climate change, parts of West Africa will be too hot and dry to produce much cocoa by 2030.