The BDSI highlights decline in German cocoa grinding, amid wider market falls
The BDSI German trade association for the confectionery sector has highlighted a troubling decline in cocoa grindings for the third quarter, which it reveals is having an ongoing impact on the sector, reports Neill Barston.
According to the organisation, the rate of year-on-year reductions stood at 9.7%, falling at a lower corresponding level than for the second period of 2020 that was reportedly down by 16.3% for the sector against the same time-frame last year.
The BDSI said the 11 companies working with cocoa have contributed to a total of 93,355.1 tonnes of cocoa had been ground year-to-date. It cited the coronavirus crisis as further affecting traditional sales channels within the retail sector, including stores based within airports had been notably impacted. In addition, it said that the export of sweet and Chocolate goods has also suffered during the year.
As Confectionery Production previously covered, the latest quarterly figures have been released by the European Cocoa Association showed that cocoa grindings for the wider region were down by 4.7% amid challenging market conditions.
According to the organisation’s findings, European grinding rates stood at 345,730 tonnes for the third quarter, against a result of 362,940 the same time the previous year.
The situation has led to concerns from sector observers that despite confectionery groups agreeing to pay a premium of $400 a tonne (known as the living income differential) from this autumn to offer enhanced support for farmers, a corresponding drop in the value of cocoa means the support system may not be enough to help raise underlying rates of poverty within key growing communities of Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, The Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) also recently revealed that third quarter cocoa grinding figures for its region were down 10% year-on-year, though it reported a growing sense of optimism, as those reductions had levelled off against performance in the previous quarter to provide hope moving into 2021.
