The cost of traditional Sinterklaas goodies such as chocolate letters and kruidnoten has risen sharply this year as global cocoa prices continue to climb, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Monday.

This year, chocolate Sinterklaas products are between 13% and 20% more expensive than in 2024, according to producers Verkade and Bolletje. At supermarkets Albert Heijn and Jumbo, a 250-gram bag of Bolletje chocolate kruidnoten now costs €3.39, while a 135-gram Verkade chocolate letter sells for €4.29.

Verkade director Dennis Teeken told the paper the company had accepted lower margins to prevent further price increases. The Zaandam-based firm produces around two million chocolate letters each year.

At Bolletje, margins on chocolate kruidnoten are now “virtually nil”, commercial director Geert-Jan Zandbergen told the FD. “We’ve absorbed much of the higher costs ourselves, which has had a major impact on our results,” he said.

Bolletje said sales of chocolate kruidnoten have fallen as more shoppers switch to supermarket brands or plain versions.

The company is focusing on new flavours such as stroopwafel and mocha to attract customers. Verkade is also adapting its range, adding caramel to some of its letters and offering both large and small sizes.

Rabobank said in September that chocolate prices are now 40% higher than they were four years ago. The bank expects the cocoa market to stabilise, meaning prices are unlikely to rise further, but said the underlying causes of the shortage – climate change, ageing trees, crop disease and years of under-investment – are structural.

“African farmers have been underpaid for years and haven’t been able to invest, leading to soil exhaustion and little protection against climate change,” Rodney Nikkels, owner of the Amsterdam-based organic chocolate maker Chocolatemakers, told the FD.

“For stable prices in the long term, farmers need to be paid fairly and more investment is needed in sustainable cocoa production.”