Easter eggs have gone up in price by as much as 50% on last year while shrinking in size, according to an investigation.

The price of chocolate has risen by 16.5% in a year – compared to a 4.4% increase for supermarket food and drink overall – according to inflation tracking by Which?.

It comes after a steep fall in global cocoa production, driven by higher temperatures hindering the quality and quantity of beans, started driving wholesale costs to record highs.

An 80g pouch of Terry’s chocolate orange mini eggs at Lidl cost 99p in the run up to Easter in 2024 but has gone up to £1.35 while shrinking to 70g – meaning a price rise of 56% per 100g.

The same product, which originally cost more at other supermarkets, has gone up by 51% at Asda, 37% at Sainsbury’s and 14% at Tesco.

At Morrisons, Which? found a 200g Cadbury Creme Egg 5 Pack Mixed Chocolate Box had increased in price from £2.62 last year to £4 this year. A Nestle Kit Kat Chunky milk chocolate Easter egg stayed at the same price at the supermarket but has reduced in size from 129g to 110g – making it 17% more expensive per 100g.

At Tesco, Which? found a Twix white chocolate Easter egg had increased from £5 to £6 on last year and had also shrunk from 316g to 258g, meaning the unit price per 100g had gone up by 47%.

Meanwhile, Asda Fruit & Nut Milk Chocolate 200g is 73% more expensive, rising from £1.33 to £2.30.

At Ocado, a 110g NOMO Creamy Choc Buttons share bag 110g has gone up from £2.43 to £3.97, a 63% increase.

Which? money and retail editor Reena Sewraz said: “You can still get a good deal on your Easter chocolate by looking for special offers, comparing the price per gram or if you can, hold out until Easter Sunday when many of the eggs are likely to be reduced.”

A Mars Wrigley UK spokeswoman said: “We will always absorb pricing pressures where we can, but rising manufacturing costs – driven in part by well-documented increases in the cost of cocoa – have meant that we’ve had to adjust some of our product sizes to minimise changes to list price, ensuring our snacks continue to deliver great quality and affordable value for families this Easter.”

A Nestle spokeswoman said: “Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of cocoa, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products.

“As always, we continue to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible. To maintain the same high quality and delicious products that consumers know and love, it has sometimes been necessary to make adjustments to the price or weight of some of our products.

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“Retail pricing is always at the sole discretion of individual retailers.”

Ocado said: “With external factors continuing to push up the price of a range of commodities, we’re doing all we can to keep prices low for our customers.

“We also work closely with our suppliers to make sure pricing is fair, without compromising on quality.”

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