UK food prices are rising at their fastest rate in 45 years and that means traditional Easter treats are costing more than ever. 

Chocolate eggs, hot cross buns and Easter biscuits all have one ingredient in common - sugar.

Poor harvests in key sugar growing regions are driving prices higher, meaning those with a sweet tooth will need deeper pockets.

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Brownie Things supply bakeries, and sell direct to customers through market stalls and online. 

Easter is usually one of their busiest times, but they have been battling with high sugar prices as well as transport and energy costs for months.

"Our gluten free flour that we use has doubled in price, which we use for all of our brownie bases, sugar has gone up considerably, butter has gone up considerably. These are all things that are out of control," Martins Strals, Managing Director of Brownie Things told CGTN.

"We can either sit here and moan and complain and shut shop, or we can adapt and innovate and find ways to survive."

Easter treats are more than just chocolate. Hot Cross Buns are sold in their millions in the UK alone. But, like everything else, they have been hit by spiraling prices. 

'Necessity is the mother of invention'

In the UK, the annual food inflation rate is now above 18 percent.

But it is chocolate that now dominates the holiday, and 80 - 90 million chocolate eggs are expected to be sold in the UK this Easter.

Poor sugarcane harvests last year have reduced the amount of sugar available globally, pushing up prices. But there are hopes that it is temporary. Harvests in the past few months have been more successful, which should reduce prices in future.

For now, businesses are having to do whatever they can to keep costs down without sacrificing quality.

"We actually have the means here to grind our own sugar, so we can turn it from granulated sugar to something that is even greater quality than caster sugar, which is a huge saving in price that way. So necessity is the mother of invention, and we've certainly been as inventive as we can be," Luke Goold, Head Chef at Brownie Things told CGTN.

Children in the UK will eat an average of eight chocolate eggs each, of differing sizes in the coming days, but the cost of those eggs might leave a sour taste in the mouth of parents.

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