MANILA: Cocoa processing in Asia rose 7.2 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 190,244 tonnes, data from the Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) showed on Friday, marking the highest volume for January-March in seven years.
CAA, which groups cocoa grinders in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, said in an email that the volume was the highest ever for the first quarter since it began reporting the data in 2011, "reflecting robust demand inside and outside Asia."
Cocoa grinding, which indicates demand for chocolate's key ingredient, dropped 3.2 percent compared with October-December, the data showed.
North American cocoa grindings fell 1.1 percent year on year to 118,778 tonnes in the first quarter, marking the region's weakest start to the year since 2011.
European grindings rose 5.5 percent from a year ago to 358,432 tonnes, the region's biggest first-quarter volume on records that date back to 1999.
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