A surge in cocoa bean prices together with consumer inflation in Japan are having an impact on the 67.5% of women who buy chocolates as Valentine¡¯s Day gifts, a survey showed Thursday.

High prices of cocoa beans, the basic ingredient for chocolate, have made them choose lower-priced items and reduce the number of gifts they purchase, according to the survey by market research company Intage.

The survey was conducted in mid-January on people between the ages of 15 and 79 across Japan who are registered as respondents to Intage questionnaires. Valid responses were collected from about 2,500 women and girls.

Of them, 42.8% responded that they have no plan to give chocolates, up 4.0 percentage points from a similar survey last year.

An average budget for Valentine¡¯s Day gifts, mainly for family members and themselves, stood at ?4,943, up ?369.

Asked about reasons for the budget increase, 63.6% cited higher chocolate prices and 39.8% mentioned general price increases and a weaker yen.

Of about 1,450 women who said they planned to purchase chocolates for Valentine¡¯s Day, the biggest proportion, 33.7%, with multiple answers allowed, said the impact from price hikes was leading them to choose lower-priced items.

This was followed by 24.6% who plan to reduce the number of items they purchase and 18.9% who will buy at places where lower-priced items are available, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, 7.9% said they would buy other sweets, and 7.7% responded that they would reduce or stop purchases of chocolates for themselves. Those who decided not to give chocolate gifts totaled 5.8%, and those switching to homemade chocolates stood at 3.1%.

¡°Our survey last year already showed a strong impact of inflation and higher cocoa prices on women¡¯s behavior,¡± an Intage official said. ¡°This year¡¯s survey showed an even stronger influence of the surge in chocolate prices on their actions.¡±