Retailers push chocolate sales for Valentine’s Day

Sales galore: Female customers buy boxes of chocolates as gifts before Valentine’s Day in Tokyo. Takashimaya is offering twice as many products that feature combinations of chocolate and jellies, shortbread and other foods as it did last year. — AFP

TOKYO: As the battle for sales heats up ahead of Valentine’s Day, retailers are pulling out all the stops to boost chocolate sales despite recent increases in the price of the sweet treat.

Chocolate is commonly given as a gift on Valentine’s Day, but prices of chocolate products have been rising due to the surging cost of cacao beans, a key ingredient.