NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - North American cocoa processing fell in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 103,971 metric tons, down 2.95% year-on-year, according to data from the National Confectioners Association (NCA) released on Thursday.
Cocoa grind data is a key demand indicator for the market of the chocolate-making commodity. The NCA said 15 plants in North America reported data on cocoa processing for the fourth quarter, the same amount reported a year ago.
"It is a lot better than expected," said a U.S.-based cocoa broker, referring to market estimates before the release that were indicating a fall of between 6% and 8%.
Cocoa processing in North America
had fallen nearly 18%
in the previous quarter.
North America's smaller grind data also follows negative numbers from
Asia
and
Europe
released earlier this week, as
record prices
for cocoa hurt demand for the commodity.
Industry analysts say that some consumers tend to buy chocolate bars with smaller cocoa content due to the rising retail prices, or even switch to cheaper sweets to reduce spending. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira Editing by Chris Reese and Marguerita Choy)
