{{articledata.title}}

European food giant %Nestle (OTC: $NSRGY ) says it plans to raise prices for some %Chocolate products in the U.S. as cocoa costs remain elevated.

The American division of Swiss-based Nestle, which is the world’s biggest food company, will raise prices for its Toll House morsels, baking cocoa, and fudge starting on June 23 this year.

The increased prices at the consumer level come as Nestle haggles with its cocoa suppliers to try and lower its input costs.

Prices for chocolate continue to rise even as overall grocery inflation moderates. This is because the price of cocoa, the active ingredient in chocolate, remains elevated.

Cocoa traded in New York hit a record high of nearly $13,000 U.S. a ton last year as poor weather and disease damaged crops in Africa.

While prices have come down about 30% from their peak, cocoa remains far above its historic price level.

Nestle has struggled with surging cocoa costs over the past year, prompting it to pass the price increase onto consumers.

Management at Nestle is also seeking to deliver nearly $850 million U.S. in cost savings this year.

Nestle has been struggling in North America, which has been one of the company’s weakest-performing regions in recent quarters.

Average prices of U.S. chocolates have risen about 18% over the past two years, according to market data.

Higher chocolate prices have hurt sales for some food companies as consumers remain cost-conscious and seek out cheaper alternatives.

%HersheyCo (NYSE: $HSY ) said recently that prices of its chocolates are up an average of 8% year-to-date while sales are down 4.5%.

The stock of Nestle has risen 28% this year as investors flood into European securities. The company’s shares are currently trading at $105.59 U.S. each.