The CEO of Barry Callebaut, the world's largest chocolate manufacturer, Peter Feld, stated that the company must reduce its debt levels and is currently taking action on this matter, according to an interview report published Thursday.

In July, Barry Callebaut lowered its full-year sales volume forecast for the third time this year. Previously, elevated cocoa prices and uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policies led to decreased customer purchases of its products.

In the interview, Feld revealed that the Zurich-headquartered company had to raise product prices by 63% during the current fiscal year, while sales volume declined by approximately 6.3% over the same period.

When asked about the company's rising debt-to-profit ratio and rating agencies Moody's and S&P Global downgrading the company's outlook to "negative" earlier this year, Feld responded that cocoa bean storage costs have risen significantly.

"We need to bring debt down to reasonable levels. We are currently in negotiations with banks on this matter and have announced specific measures," he added.

He noted that the company's ongoing investment program is helping with debt reduction efforts, as the program enables the company to estimate product sales volumes at the group level and the required cocoa bean procurement quantities.

Feld pointed out: "We have also adjusted the financing methods for current assets, and everything is currently moving in the right direction."