Czechs have a big problem before Christmas. A key food item is running out, people are already buying it in bulk

The situation on the food market has still not completely calmed down. Some describe current events as the moment before the perfect storm. The reason for this is the fact that the prices of all kinds of food, which are literally key, are skyrocketing on the world markets. If there are more of them and the increase in price does not subside, customers may have big problems. In extreme cases, there may be shortages of goods on the shelves, but this is more likely to result in such an increase in price that customers simply cannot afford it anymore.

The manufacturer was affected

Food manufacturers are warning mainly about the situation that has arisen in the rice market, where there has been a stoppage of exports by the largest exporter of India. The events concerning olive oil, which Turkey has stopped exporting, are also worrying. Among other things, the price of orange juice is skyrocketing. And the question of wheat and its supply across the world is not satisfactorily resolved either.

Currently, however, producers and sellers, as well as customers, are worried about the increase in the price of cocoa. This has been at record highs for some time and continues to rise to new highs. However, this raw material is connected to a huge business, namely the production of chocolate confectionery, which is engaged in by global giants such as Nestlé, Hersheys, Lindt, Mondelez or Ferrero.

A number of these companies have already announced that they will have to raise the price of their goods quite significantly, as the price of cocoa is beyond anything that has been commonly seen up to now. In addition, the price of another raw material, which is sugar, is also against them. It is also growing quite significantly. It used to be the case that these commodities tended to equalize and the prices of end products could therefore remain relatively stable. This time, however, we have a perfect storm from this point of view.

Customers are already feeling it

In Czech stores, the prices of chocolate products are already rising very significantly. For example, the price of a 100-gram Milka chocolate bar rose to some 55 crowns. Until relatively recently, however, it cost only CZK 30. According to some experts, this is just the beginning and prices will continue to rise.

“It’s really annoying. We bought tree collections and advent calendars, and the prices have really risen significantly compared to last year,” says Mrs. Miroslava, whom we caught in Prague’s Kaufland.

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So it’s no wonder that customers are trying to stock up on candy before Christmas while they still have money for it. But they should be very careful about what they buy. As economist Lukáš Kovanda warned, manufacturers will try all kinds of tricks. In addition to the higher price, there will be a shrinking of the packaging, which also means an increase in price, just a little differently, but often much more noticeable.

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