date:Apr 22, 2013
riod. Fourth-quarter 2012 grind was up 1% from the corresponding quarter in 2011, but grind was below year-earlier periods in each of the first three quarters of 2012.
Earlier in the week the European Cocoa Association reported first-quarter cocoa bean grind at 339,337 tonnes, down 3.9% from the same period a year earlier. Grind in Europe was below year-earlier levels in each quarter of 2012, and was down 10.3% from 2011 for the full year.
Cocoa bean grind is seen as an indication of chocolate