"Chocolate Inflation" is a reality...Dessert store is also a direct hit.

[Anchor]
"Chocolate inflation" has become a reality, with international prices of cocoa soaring due to abnormal climate, raising prices of chocolate-related processed foods.

Dessert shop owners, who focus on chocolate, are also at a loss due to the steep rise in ingredients.

I'm reporter Hwang Bo Hye-kyung.

[Reporter]
Choi Soo-hyun, who has been running a chocolate shop in Yeonnam-dong, Seoul for eight years, is surprised every time she buys ingredients recently.

This is because the price of ingredients such as cacao mass and powder in handmade chocolate has risen remarkably.

[Choi Soo-hyun / Chocolatier: 40,000 won is 60,000 won, and it's going up so clearly that you can feel it. I'm trying to hang in there, but I'm not sure what's going to happen later.]

Cocoa prices have risen significantly in two years as production has decreased due to the abnormal climate in West Africa, the main producer of cocoa.

International cocoa prices, which topped $10,000 a tonne for the first time in April this year, are still showing no signs of coming down from around $9,000.

Compared to two years ago, it has nearly quadrupled.

As a result, Korea's leading confectionery companies have also raised prices of products with a high proportion of chocolate ingredients.

Following Haitai Confectionary's average 8.59% increase in prices of its flagship products such as home run balls and free time starting this month,

Orion reversed its price freeze commitment and raised the price of chocolate products such as Choco Songi and Diget by an average of 10.6%.

Earlier in June, Lotte Well Food raised prices of its flagship products such as Pepero and Ghana by 12% on average.

[Lee Jung-min / Yeonhui-dong, Seoul: I eat a lot of chocolate products and snacks. Since the price has gone up, I think I'll be reluctant to buy chocolate products.]

According to the food industry, the price of palm oil used to produce snacks and ramen has jumped more than 20% from the average year due to the abnormal climate in Indonesia, the largest producer, and logistics and labor costs have risen one after another, forcing an increase.

Some predict that the food and beverage industry, which is aiming for the peak season at the end of the year, will raise domino prices at a time when it is not easy to recover raw material prices for the time being.

I'm YTN Hwang Bo Hye-kyung.

Filmmaker for
: Kim Jung-won

Design: Lee Wonhee