The craze for Dubai chocolate has sparked a global pistachio shortage. Demand is driving up prices for the nut.
The Financial Times writes about this.
The specialty of Dubai chocolate is the filling of pistachios and crispy kataifi dough. In 2024, Ukrainians googled the most what kind of chocolate it is and where to buy it.
In 2021, Emirati brand FIX launched a line of pistachio-filled chocolates, but they were only moderately successful until a TikTok video turned them into a global sensation. The video, posted in December 2023, garnered over 120 million views and sparked a global craze for Dubai chocolate.
The popularity of chocolate has seen pistachios rise in price from $7.65 per pound (about 0.45 kg) to about $10.30 in the past year. For example, a bar of Dubai chocolate from the Swiss company Lindt sells for £10 for 145 grams in the UK — twice the price of other Lindt products. But demand is so high that some stores have imposed limits on the number of bars in one hand.
Pistachio stocks are already down after a poor harvest last year in the United States, the main exporter of the nut. In addition, the quality of the American crop was above average, so fewer of the cheap nuts, which are usually used as ingredients in chocolate and other products, were harvested.
Iran, the worldʼs second-largest pistachio producer, exported 40% more pistachios to the United Arab Emirates in the six months to March 2025 than in the previous year.
In California, some farmers have begun switching from almonds to pistachios in recent years as almond prices have fallen. But the new trees wonʼt start bearing fruit until the next harvest in September. Meanwhile, chocolate makers are struggling to keep up with demand for the creamy bars.
- Chocolate lovers were already suffering from a cocoa shortage, which led to prices nearly tripling in 2024 due to a terrible crop failure. Manufacturers began to reduce the size of the bars and change recipes, reducing the cocoa content.
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