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Can You Stock Up On Cheap Easter Eggs For Next Year?
Susan Edmunds, Money Correspondent
Easter eggs might be a lot cheaper now than they were pre-Christmas, but will they last if you stock up now for next year?
While Cadbury Easter eggs were selling for $9.90 down from $15 in the lead-up to Easter at Woolworths, this week they were on special for $7 or $8.
A party mix Easter egg had dropped to $4.
Clare Wall, professor of nutrition at the University of Auckland and head of the school of medical sciences, said many eggs should last until next year.
She said the shelf life of chocolate would vary depending on the type.
"Dark chocolate lasts longer - up to two years, and milk and white chocolate approximately one year. However, filled-type Easter eggs may have a much shorter shelf-life. It's important to store chocolate in a cool dry place."
She said the standard milk chocolate eggs should keep a year.
"But often these products have a June best before date on them - apparently this is to ensure that they aren't kept by retailers until the following Easter season.
"From a food safety perspective a use by date indicates that beyond this date foods become unsafe to eat, whereas the best before date relates to the quality."
Another option could be to buy a mould and make your own. Even on special, Easter eggs were about $5 per 100g of chocolate, compared to $2.60 per 100g for a Whittakers creamy milk block.
Chocolate prices, including for Easter eggs, have risen quickly in recent years, as pressure has gone on cocoa prices.
The cocoa commodity price is now three times what it was in 2020.
"Rising chocolate prices are due to lower cocoa supply from major producing countries in Africa, and the World Bank Commodity Price Index shows cocoa prices sitting three times higher in March 2025 than five years ago, with prices the last two months easing back slightly off record highs," Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, told RNZ earlier.
He said if New Zealand chocolate prices had tracked international cocoa prices, a block of chocolate would be selling for more like $15 to $18.
Stats NZ data shows that in March, the average cost of a 250g block of chocolate at the supermarket was $5.99, compared to $5.15 a year earlier.
RNZ
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