Chocolate prices leaving homeowners 'swallowing hard' ahead of Halloween night

Homeowners may have to choose tricks over treats this year, as the price of candy leaves some Edmonton residents feeling the pinch.

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Gordon Bowman has been living in Summerside for nine years. The south-side neighbourhood is the Halloween equivalent of Candy Cane Lane, with thousands of kids stopping by each year.

"It was about $300 for (candy) nine years ago, and it's been increasing every year," Bowman said. "(Now) you're looking at $500 to $800 at least for candy."

Sven Anders, professor of resource economics at the University of Alberta, said the rising costs of cocoa is one of the drivers of higher chocolate candy costs.

"That price has more than doubled in the last year," Anders said, explaining that extreme weather has impacted regions where 80 per cent of the world's cocoa is produced.

"Certainly people will be swallowing hard when they see what a box of candy costs,"

General inflation has also had impacts, with energy, packaging and other overhead costs on the rise, Anders said, as well as seasonal demand amid existing shortages.

"Chocolate and Halloween is like guacamole and the Super Bowl," he added. "There's so much consumed at this specific time. This also creates a crunch."

That could be of benefit to some consumers though, with older candy going on sale to make way for new stock – though it all depends on the retailer.

"They set their price, and that's usually a pretty hefty margin that the retailer charges to cover costs and everything," Anders said.

If you're not willing to turn off the porch light to save on candy costs, there are ways to work around the rising price of Halloween treats.

Matthew Leclerc has been keeping his eyes peeled for candy sales since moving to Summerside in July. (Nav Sangha/CTV News Edmonton)

Matthew Leclerc, who moved to Summerside this summer, said he's been shopping "smart" since.

"A realtor made a joke about us needing a part-time job just to support the candy habit," Leclerc said. "We thought he was joking."

By keeping his eyes peeled for sales at Costco, he's managed to stock up on more than a dozen cases of chocolate bars for around $200.

'We just waited for sales at Costco," he said. "Whenever there's a good sale. Buy a box or two."

If you haven't already stocked up, Bowman has another strategy to make the yearly deluge more manageable.

Last year, he and his wife teamed up with a neighbour to tackle hand-out duties for the more than 3,200 costumed candy seekers visiting the area.

"My wife and I, it took four or five hours just handing out piece-by-piece-by-piece, and we didn't enjoy it because it's so busy," he said.

"Takes four or five people sometimes to hand out that much candy for that long a period of time," he continued. "The price too … if families get together and bulk in with the candy together, you might say it'd be a lot better, easier."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha