Asian First-Quarter Cocoa Grindings Rose 4.09% on Year

By Ronnie Harui

Asia's cocoa-bean grindings rose 4.09% in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier, according to figures released Thursday by the Cocoa Association of Asia.

Cocoa grindings for the quarter totaled 222,028 metric tons, compared with 213,313 tons a year earlier, the figures showed. On a quarterly basis, cocoa grindings fell 3.80% from the previous quarter.

Cocoa grindings--the volume of cocoa beans processed into the butters and powders used to make chocolate--are often taken as a proxy for cocoa demand.

The CAA is a trade association that groups the major companies involved in cocoa bean trade and processing, warehousing and related logistical activities in the region.

Write to Ronnie Harui at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-20-23 0523ET