NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - North American cocoa grindings fell more than expected in the fourth quarter to 107,130 tonnes, down 8.13% from the same period a year earlier, 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.
However, there was one less plant reporting data for the survey compared with a year ago (15 versus 16), NCA said, which could partly explain the smaller processing volume.
Most analysts and brokers were expecting a reduction in cocoa processing in the period between 1% and 3%, so the data from NCA shows a much larger grind cut than expected, even considering the fact that the survey had one less plant reporting data.
Europe's Q4 grind
also fell as some of the largest chocolate makers in the industry
revised production numbers amid retailers' falling orders as the economic situation deteriorates.
"Reasons for the weaker grind seem to be concerns for the first half of 2023, recession, that may have pushed back some orders," said a U.S. cocoa broker, referring to the NCA data.
"A weaker Halloween displaced some of the Q4 demand," said a second broker based in New York. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira Editing by Chris Reese and Marguerita Choy)
