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Photo: Monika Skolimowska / dpa
Easter can come: The German confectionery industry produced around 240 million chocolate bunnies this year. The Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) announced this on Friday, based on a survey among its member companies. Last year the number of Easter bunnies was 230 million, in 2022 it will be 239 million.
Around half of the chocolate bunnies produced, around 118 million pieces, are sold in Germany. The remainder are exported abroad - primarily to neighboring European countries, but also to the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa. According to the association, the variant made from milk chocolate is still the most popular.
»Large price ranges are amazing"
Consumer advocates criticize that the products produced for Easter are much more expensive than normal ones. “The whole milk chocolate bar from the same manufacturer can cost less than half as much as an Easter bunny per 100 grams,” said food expert Silvia Monetti from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center.
According to the consumer advocate, retail prices vary greatly this year. Chocolate bunnies cost between 9.93 euros and 37.90 euros per kilo, chocolate eggs between 7.25 and 29.90 euros. “Such large price ranges are astonishing, since all manufacturers are affected by higher cocoa and sugar prices,” said Monetti. She advises consumers to pay attention to the base price shown on the price tag.
The confectionery association defends the prices. The effort required to produce a chocolate bunny, chick or lamb cannot be compared to that of a chocolate bar, said BDSI Managing Director Carsten Bernoth. Easter confectionery places increased demands on product design, personnel deployment, storage and logistics.
Cocoa is becoming scarce
The industry continues to be confronted with sharp increases in raw material prices. The cause is poor harvests due to weather and a shortage of supply. Last year, according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), a ton of cocoa cost an average of 3,000 euros; currently it is more than 6,600 euros. Consumers must therefore expect that chocolate will become more expensive. Several manufacturers such as Hershey, Nestlé, Lindt & Sprüngli have recently commented accordingly.
This year, too, the number of chocolate Easter bunnies is higher than the number of chocolate Santa Clauses. By Christmas 2023, manufacturers had produced 167 million pieces. A spokeswoman for the BDSI explains it this way: "The chocolate Easter bunny has less competition than the chocolate Santa Claus." During Advent and Christmas, many people chose gingerbread, Stollen, prints or dominoes in addition to chocolate Santa Clauses. In total, around 1.2 million tons of chocolate products were produced in Germany in 2023, which is 2.3 percent more than in the previous year.
mik/dpa AFX