July 22 (Reuters) - Hershey said on Tuesday it

has told retailers that it would be raising prices on its

candies due to a surge in costs of cocoa, the key ingredient for

its products.

"This change is not related to tariffs or trade policies. It

reflects the reality of rising ingredient costs including the

unprecedented cost of cocoa," a company spokesperson told

Reuters.

Hershey did not clarify the extent of price increases and

which products will be impacted.

Cocoa prices have risen sharply in the last two years due to

supply problems in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, touching a record

in December. Since then, the price of cocoa has fallen to an

eight-month low, though it remains elevated above levels from

earlier in the decade.

Bloomberg was the first to report the company was

implementing a roughly double-digit price increase.