Hershey will increase the share of cocoa in its chocolate amid lower prices

In recent years, chocolate makers have been reducing the proportion of cocoa in their products due to soaring prices for cocoa beans, but the trend has now begun to change.

American confectionery giant Hershey has already announced plans to increase the cocoa content in its chocolate substitutes, Reuters reports.

Changes in cocoa prices can take about 10 months to be reflected in retail chocolate prices as producers book purchase prices many months in advance and hold large inventories.

Prices for raw chocolate began to decline last month, and suppliers note that if the trend continues, producing real chocolate could be cheaper than producing chocolate-flavored substitutes using vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter.