Brace yourselves — higher chocolate prices are coming

We're only halfway through the year, but already shortages of limes, avocados and pork have sent prices of margaritas, guacamole and bacon sky high in 2014.

And now it looks as if the unthinkable is happening: Mars and Hershey announced they would boost the price of chocolate products by seven and eight percent, respectively.

What’s driving the increase? And more importantly: How do we cope? Dan Pashman, the host of WNYC’s Sporkful food podcast, says there are two reasons that the price of chocolate is going up.

"One is there have been poor yields from major cocoa producers going back now several years," Pashman says. "Sixty-eight percent of the world's cocoa comes from Africa, and a lot of the trees there are getting old and sick, and reforming the industry there has been very difficult. It's actually one of the few agribusiness industries where a huge amount of the crop actually still comes from very small local farmers."

In addition to supply problems, Pashman says there's been greater global demand for higher cocoa content in chocolate products. "People love their cocoa," Pashman says.

But there are some tips for stretching your chocolate dollars a little bit futher. Pashman recently spoke to a chocolate maker in Hawaii who "identifies two different types of chocolate eaters," Pashman says, "melters and chompers."

A melter, as the name suggests, is someone who patiently holds a piece of chocolate in their mouth until it melts away; a chomper chews a piece of chocolate relatively quickly. Pashman says the former can save money, and allow the eater to savor the chocolate.

"You may be able to eat less chocolate if you let it melt in your mouth," Pashman says, "because it would take so long and you would get so much flavor from it."

We're only halfway through the year, but already shortages of limes, avocados and pork have sent prices of margaritas, guacamole and bacon sky high in 2014.

And now it looks as if the unthinkable is happening: Mars and Hershey announced they would boost the price of chocolate products by seven and eight percent, respectively.

What’s driving the increase? And more importantly: How do we cope? Dan Pashman, the host of WNYC’s Sporkful food podcast, says there are two reasons that the price of chocolate is going up.

"One is there have been poor yields from major cocoa producers going back now several years," Pashman says. "Sixty-eight percent of the world's cocoa comes from Africa, and a lot of the trees there are getting old and sick, and reforming the industry there has been very difficult. It's actually one of the few agribusiness industries where a huge amount of the crop actually still comes from very small local farmers."

In addition to supply problems, Pashman says there's been greater global demand for higher cocoa content in chocolate products. "People love their cocoa," Pashman says.

But there are some tips for stretching your chocolate dollars a little bit futher. Pashman recently spoke to a chocolate maker in Hawaii who "identifies two different types of chocolate eaters," Pashman says, "melters and chompers."

A melter, as the name suggests, is someone who patiently holds a piece of chocolate in their mouth until it melts away; a chomper chews a piece of chocolate relatively quickly. Pashman says the former can save money, and allow the eater to savor the chocolate.

"You may be able to eat less chocolate if you let it melt in your mouth," Pashman says, "because it would take so long and you would get so much flavor from it."