The dark chocolate version of Toblerone's most popular bar has been discontinued after nearly six decades on confectionery shelves.

Food manufacturer Mondel?z International confirmed in a statement that its 360g dark chocolate bar would no longer be sold in the UK.

The company said it understood the "difficult decision" may be "disappointing for some consumers".

It attributed the discontinuation to "changing tastes" and growing its business, adding it "continuously adapt[s]" its range and "continue[s] to invest in Toblerone".

The original Toblerone bar was first invented in 1908, with a dark chocolate version - containing 50% cocoa - released in 1969.

Mondel?z did not indicate if its dark chocolate Toblerone was being discontinued elsewhere besides the UK, or if other sizes will also be discontinued. The BBC has approached the company for further comment.

The brand name Toblerone was created using the founder's surname, "Tobler" and the Italian word for a type of nougat made with honey and almonds - "torrone" - which the chocolate contains.

The Swiss chocolate bar's distinctive triangular shape is thought to have been inspired by the Matterhorn in the Alps - a silhouette of which appears on the packaging - though its true origins remain unclear.

A number of different versions have been released since it was first created, including a white chocolate version and a fruit and nut version.

The decision comes as the UK heads into the Easter bank holiday weekend, when chocolate sales are expected to be elevated.

But the industry has suffered from rising cocoa prices in recent years, reaching a record high in December, driven by a sharp fall in cocoa production.

The price of chocolate rose by 13.6% in the year to March, according to Office for National Statistics figures.

Last month, an investigation by Which? found that Easter egg prices in particular had risen by as much as 50% compared with the previous year, while chocolate sold in supermarkets in general had risen by 16.5% in the same period.

Claire Burnet, co-founder of Dorset-based premium chocolate company Chococo, said that the rising prices were "driven primarily by poor harvests from the two biggest cocoa producing countries in the world that account for 60% of global cocoa production - Ghana and the Ivory Coast."

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday that there had been a "perfect storm" of "ageing farmers, ageing trees, declining yields, increasing disease and then you overlay climate change issues on top of that".

Crops in West Africa have been particularly affected by unusually dry weather in recent years.(BBC)

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