The craze for ‘Dubai chocolate’ has led to a pistachio shortage, causing prices to soar by 35%. According to a report by the Financial Times (FT) on the 19th, citing nut trading company CG Hacking, the price of pistachios has jumped from $7.65 per pound a year ago to $10.30 now.
The Dubai chocolate, launched in 2021 by UAE chocolate company Bix, gained significant attention when a TikTok video posted in December 2023 garnered 120 million views, prompting other manufacturers to introduce similar products. Despite the high price, Dubai chocolate is selling rapidly. Swiss company Lindt’s Dubai-style chocolate is priced at 10 pounds (approximately 18,000 KRW) for a 145g product in the UK, more than double that of other chocolate bars. It is reportedly selling so well that some stores have limited the number customers can purchase per person.
Additionally, last year’s poor harvest in the United States, the largest exporter of pistachios, affected inventory. California’s pistachio supply over the past year until February decreased by 20% compared to the previous year.
According to Iranian customs statistics, pistachio exports to the UAE over the six months until March this year were 40% higher than the previous year’s exports. Behrouz Agah, director of the Iran Pistachio Association, noted that this is a phenomenon entirely different from the supply surplus in 2023, with surplus pistachios being used for various by-products such as pistachio butter, oil, and paste. This coincides with the global spread of Dubai chocolate.