By Ben Winkley
LONDON--Europe's first-quarter cocoa grindings rose
incrementally from the year-earlier period, according to figures
published Thursday by the Brussels-based European Cocoa Association
showed.
The ECA said 340,735 metric tons of beans were processed in the
first three months of the year, a rise of 0.4% from the 339,377
tons processed in the same period of 2013.
The continent's grindings data--which measure the amount of
cocoa beans processed--are regarded as a proxy for chocolate
demand.
ECA members account for two-thirds of European cocoa bean
grindings, half of Europe's industrial chocolate production, as
well as 40% of the global production of cocoa liquor, butter and
powder.
ECA grinding members include ADM Cocoa, a unit of Archer Daniels
Midland Co. (ADM); Barry Callebaut AG (BARN.EB); Delfi Cocoa
Europe, a division of Petra Foods Ltd. (P34.SG); ECOM/Dutch Cocoa;
Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate; and Nederland SA.
Bean processors include Cioccolato Peyrano, Euromar, Ferrero
SPA, Nestle SA (NESN.VX), Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) and
Toms.
Write to Ben Winkley at ben.winkley@wsj.com
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