Cocoa Processing in Asia Declines 17% as Global Demand Shrinks

Cocoa processing in Asia dropped in the fourth quarter as slowing global growth and a surge in prices to a three-year high in September reduced demand for the beans used to make chocolate.

The grind, an indication of consumption, declined 17 percent to 141,396 metric tons from 170,684 tons a year earlier, the Singapore-based Cocoa Association of Asia said in an e-mailed statement today. Full-year grindings fell 3.9 percent to 614,461 tons from 639,505 tons in 2013. The data are for Malaysia, and members in Singapore and Indonesia.