Asia 2017 Cocoa Grindings Rise 11% on Year

Asian cocoa grindings rose 4.2% in the fourth quarter from the same period last year to 196,476 metric tons, according to figures issued by the Cocoa Association of Asia on Monday.

Compared with the third quarter, grindings were up 3.7%, the data showed. For the full year, grindings climbed 11% to 724,211 metric tons from 651,494 metric tons in 2016.

Grindings refer to the volume of cocoa beans processed into the butters and powders used to make chocolate and are often used as a proxy for chocolate demand.

The data reflect the compilation of grindings from Malaysia as well as from Cocoa Association of Asia members in both Singapore and Indonesia.

Last week, the European Cocoa Association said processing volumes of raw cocoa beans in Europe rose 4.4% year-over-year in 2017's fourth quarter, while the National Confectioners Association said grindings were down 1.3% to 116,080 metric tons.

Write to Lucy Craymer at lucy.craymer@wsj.com, @lucy_craymer

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2018 04:08 ET (09:08 GMT)