Some important price changes that will take effect from 5th December 2014 and the rest from 1st January 2015.

Dear Customer,

We’re writing to let you know about some important price changes that will take effect from 5th December 2014 and the rest from 1st January 2015.

Nut Product Prices

We regret to announce that prices of all nut products will be going up with effect from 5th December 2014 following sharp increases to the price of nuts in the world markets.

Hazelnut prices in particular have sky-rocketed due to a very poor harvest in Turkey after hail storms and frost devastated hazel flowers at a critical point in their growing cycle. Turkey accounts for around 70% of the world’s hazelnut crop and their harvest is expected to be around 30% below target, a shortfall of over 250,000 tonnes. At the same time, a drought in California has sent almond prices to a nine year high.

Chocolate Prices

We have some good news from our main suppliers regarding chocolate prices for the period 1st January to 30th June 2015. Happily, prices will generally remain near or slightly below current levels which will be a welcome break from the punishing price rises we have experienced over the last few years!

Although cocoa bean and cocoa butter prices are both higher (in dollar terms) than they were 6-9 months ago, this is mitigated to some extent by a stronger pound during that period, along with lower milk and sugar prices. What this means in practice is that dark chocolate prices are level or very slightly up, whereas milk and white chocolate prices are down. Please see the table below for prices of our main grades of chocolate.

Product Code	Description	Price	Pack Size	Price Change
Callebaut
SCC501	(Dark 811)	£51.87	10kg	No Change
SCC507	(Dark 70-30-38)	£56.26	10kg	No Change
SCC521	(Milk 823)	£60.42	10kg	No Change
SCC541	(White W2)	£60.05	10kg	No Change
deZaan
Product Code	Description	Price	Pack Size	Price Change
SCC317	(Dark 58%)	£45.12	10kg	-3.61%
SCC328	(Dark 70%)	£50.06	10kg	No Change
SCC338	(Milk 32%)	£46.25	10kg	-6.29%
SCC347	(Milk 38%)	£45.82	10kg	-4.69%
SCC364	(White WN)	£45.12	10kg	-6.43%
Belcolade
Product Code	Description	Price	Pack Size	Price Change
SCC300	(Dark 55%)	£63.03	15kg	+2.41%
SCC301	(Milk 34%)	£66.60	15kg	-1.25%
SCC302	(White 28%)	£68.73	15kg	-1.81%

Food Information for Consumers Regulation (FIR)

Just a reminder that most of the requirements of this new legislation come into force in 2014, with nutrition labelling becoming mandatory in 2016. If you are uncertain as to how these regulations may affect your business, as a starting point we recommend you read our Knowledge Bank article entitled “Regulations Governing the Production and Packaging of Chocolate Products” which you can view by clicking here where you will find a brief introduction to some of the main points in the FIR. Alternatively, you can call your local Trading Standards Office directly.

To view a more detailed explanation on chocolate pricing and how fluctuations in the market affect chocolate products, please visit our Knowledge Bank article, Understanding Chocolate Pricing.

If you wish to place an order, you can do so via our website or please call 0114 245 5400 where a member of our Sales team will be delighted to help you.

Regards

The Keylink Team
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