Latest data from the ICCO reveals that Europe's third-quarter cocoa grind rose 8.7% from a year earlier but only 3.5% from Q3 2019, as North America and Asia also report increases.
Asia’s cocoa grind dropped 17.2% in the fourth quarter after an economic slowdown in China, adding another cocoa processing decline to the world jigsaw.
North America’s third quarter cocoa grind is the highest of any quarter since the National Confectioners Association began to collaborate data for the US, Mexico and Canada in 2009. The Asian Q3 cocoa grind has also jumped 12%.
The North American cocoa grind has risen 5.77% in the first of quarter (Q1) compared to last year, leading one analyst to say there is still room for growth in the US chocolate market.
Asia’s cocoa grind for the third quarter has remained essentially flat compared to last year after growth in the previous two quarters, figures released yesterday show.
The European third quarter (Q3) cocoa grind has slumped 16% on the same period last year, but the statistics do not necessarily mean demand for chocolate is waning, according to an analyst.
Cocoa production in Germany has risen by 36% on the same quarter last year due to an improved political situation in Ivory Coast, according to the Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI).
