Frankfurt, Dec. 3, (dpa/GNA) – Unprecedented world cocoa prices have only slightly dented imports to Germany as the seasonal appetite for chocolate confectionery sharpens.
In the first nine months of this year, the volume fell by 1.6% to 540,400 tons, the state statistics office Destatis reported on Tuesday.
In October, imported cocoa in its various processing stages was almost twice as expensive as a year earlier, leading to a price hike of up to 50% for chocolate Santa Claus figures.
Yet demand remains strong. Per capita chocolate consumption in Germany still rose from just over 9 kilograms in 2018 to almost 9.9 kilos in 2023, according to the Confectionery Association.
In April, cocoa beans were even more than three times as expensive as a year ago. This is due to poor harvests, particularly in West Africa. Almost a third of cocoa imports to Germany come from the Ivory Coast alone.
On the whole, however, the higher prices for this luxury food have been accepted and manufacturers are planning further increases.
According to market researcher NIQ, sales have fallen slightly by 1.3% over the past twelve months.
Last year at least, the confectionery industry in Germany produced 1.14 million tons of chocolate products containing cocoa, up 4.6% on the previous year, Destatis reported. The goods had a value of €6.48 billion ($6.81 billion).
GNA