Asia cocoa processing rises 8 pc y/y in 2018 to 780,956 tonnes

JAKARTA: Cocoa processing in Asia rose 8 percent in 2018 to 780,956 tonnes from 724,211 tonnes in 2017, data from the Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) showed on Friday.

Cocoa grinding, which reflects demand for chocolate's key ingredient, increased 6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 208,900 tonnes from 196,418 tonnes in the third quarter, the CAA data showed. That compares to 196,476 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The CAA groups together cocoa grinders in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.