Cocoa demand rises

North American cocoa grindings rose for the sixth straight quarter with the smallest increase in nearly a year and a half after the 2013 figure was revised upward, according to data from the National Confectioners Association (NCA), Reuters has reported.

Cocoa grindings rose by just over one per cent in the first quarter of 2014 to just over 129,000 tonnes from the first quarter of 2013.

Considered a gauge of demand for cocoa, the results are in line with estimates.

Europe’s first quarter cocoa grind rose by only 0.4 per cent at just under 340,000 tonnes.

Asia’s quarterly cocoa grindings were up 3.7 per cent, while Malaysian grinding fell by 13.6 per cent from the first quarter of 2013.