THE owner of chocolate business York Cocoa House is heading to Colombia to discuss new ways to secure ethically-sourced ingredients.

Sophie Jewett, who set up the business in Blake Street almost five years ago, said she had accelerated her plans, after a sharp increase in the cost of Belgian chocolate since Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

She said uncertainty ahead of the referendum coupled with fluctuations in the pound since had made contracts with continental European suppliers more expensive, and the differential between European prices and those from elsewhere had been diminished.

She said: "We have chosen to re-establish our supply chain to more ethical products because it makes the prices even themselves out."

She said the company now made more than half of its own chocolate and said: "We are doing work with the Colombian government and I am on a trade mission this week to establish more resilient supply chains.

York Press:

"It has become more viable to make our own chocolate to a comparable price, given Belgian chocolate has increased."

Other local food and drink producers have also reported increased costs since the EU referendum. Many breweries have seen sharp increases, particularly in the price of hops, the vast majority of which are imported.

Phil Saltonstall, from Brass Castle Brewery in Malton, said: "If we were sourcing all our ingredients in the UK and then exporting our beer, the altered exchange rate would be on our side.

"However, given the UK drinkers' predilection for New World hops and European malts, prices are going up following the pound's fall on currency markets post Brexit."

He said keykeg containers, made in the Netherlands, had also become more expensive.