Easter eggs are burning a bigger hole in Australian wallets than ever before and more chocolate pain could trickle down under US tariffs.

Global cocoa prices have dropped 21 per cent compared to last Easter, data analysis from trading and investing platform eToro shows, fuelled by sunnier production forecasts for 2025.

But prices for cocoa beans almost doubled from $6500 to $12,500 per tonne between March 2024 and January, and remain almost 200 per cent higher than Easter in 2023.

“In recent years, adverse weather conditions have affected crops in Africa, which we aren’t seeing right now,” eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert told AAP.

“Record high cocoa prices through 2024 mean consumers globally will still be feeling the pinch when it comes to buying Easter treats this year, and Aussies are no exception.”

When combined with other market forces, it means Australians are paying up to $2 more for their favourite chocolate treats this Easter.

A 180g Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate block cost $6 last Easter and is now $8 at full price, while Ferrero Rocher Easter eggs jumped from $8 to $10.

Manufacturers have also turned to “shrinkflation”, with Cadbury not touching the price of its hunting Easter eggs but reducing the number of goodies from 12 to 11.

Gilbert warned shelf prices could rise even higher beyond Easter as top cocoa growers Ivory Coast and Ghana have been hit by US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, disrupting global trade flow.

“Both are looking to negotiate with President Trump,” he said.

“But if these tariffs stay, then this will undoubtedly have an effect on prices and thus Australian consumers too.”

Rabobank commodities analyst Paul Joules pointed out there was an uptick in cocoa prices when the tariffs were unveiled in early April, before quickly coming down.

“It just adds to the volatility and then at the same time you’ve got some genuine supply and production issues,” he told AAP.

“But the bottom line is we’ve been in a very tight supply picture for over a year now and that’s going to take a while to fix itself.”

Ivory Coast and Ghana produce 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa and growers are insulated from broader commodity volatility as their nation’s governments set farmgate prices once or twice a year,  Joules said.

“That’s another element that suggests (prices) will be a bit slower to come down,” he added.

Australians are forecast to spend $4.8 billion on this year’s Easter festivities, up from $4 billion in 2024, according to a survey by comparison site Finder.

The survey of 1004 people showed fewer intended to buy chocolate this Easter compared to last, down from 54 per cent to 49 per cent, and were bracing to spend more ($68 instead of $57).

Easter was continuing to put pressure on family budgets, prompting many to rethink their plans, Finder’s Sarah Megginson said.

“A lot of families are giving homemade gifts like rocky road or lollies in small hampers instead this Easter, to save money while still enjoying the festivities,” she said.

Not only chocolate bunnies are causing headaches this Easter.

Farmers have reported paddocks in NSW’s Riverina region are swarming with wild rabbits every night, ravaging crops and pastures.

In his Easter message, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher called for people to “dare to hope” amid testing times across the world.

“Trade wars, military wars and cyber wars. Natural disasters and climate change. Cost of living, recession, political instability … we can be short on reasons to hope,” he said.

“Yet as the great Martin Luther King Jr pointed out, it’s only when its dark that we can see the stars.”

—AAP