Americans are expected to spend more on Halloween this year, with the average planned budget rising from $172 in 2024 to $192 per person in 2025, as revealed by new survey data.
The major factor behind the rising budget is the soaring candy costs. As reported by Reuters, an average household will spend about $70 on treats alone.
The inflated candy prices are driven by a historic surge in cocoa prices.
This is due to a drastic shortage of supply in West Africa which supplies about 70 percent of the global supply of cocoa.
Weather conditions like heavy rainfall and droughts have hampered crops, leading to diseases and causing the largest-ever global shortage in cocoa supply in more than 60 years.
This scarcity has caused chocolate producers to increase prices more on the shelves and engage in shrinkflation, where package sizes have been reduced while prices remain the same.
Cocoa prices have increased by 200% since early 2024 and Wells Fargo analysts predict that cocoa prices will continue to be high at least until September 2026.
Added to the problem are the new tariffs (15%-25%) on other big U.S. cocoa exporters such as Ecuador, the Ivory Coast, and Ghana, which are termed as reciprocal tariffs.
These tariffs become an extra expense to the U.S importers and chocolate manufacturers. This will translate to a costlier Halloween for the consumers who will experience the impact the most at the candy stand as they gather their supplies to firstly, prepare for the holiday.