Cocoa Industry Is Pinning Growth Hopes on India’s Sweet Tooth

(Bloomberg) -- The cocoa industry, faced with stagnating chocolate demand in North America and Europe, is turning its growth hopes on India's burgeoning appetite for sweet treats.

That's according to the International Cocoa Organization, which says India could emerge as the fastest-growing market for products used to make everything from chocolate bars to ice cream due to rising wealth and a relatively low demand base. Per capita consumption of chocolate confectionery in the second-most populous country was roughly 10% of the global average in 2018, the ICCO said.

“India is the only place where I really see big potential in terms of consumption volumes,” ICCO Executive Director Michel Arrion said in an interview. “It already has a tradition of eating sweets -- unlike China -- and is the No. 1 potential market of the future.”

The cocoa sector is looking for nations to sell more products to as the key U.S. and European markets become saturated and consumers shift toward healthier foods. At the same time, demand across Asia -- seen as the largest growth driver of cocoa processing before the Covid-19 crisis -- is expected to see only a tepid revival this year as the pandemic weighs on spending and travel.

India's annual demand for semi-finished cocoa products used in confectionery, sweet biscuits, ice cream and frozen desserts is forecast to expand about 36% from 2018 levels to 96,735 tons by 2023, according to an ICCO report. The country's interest in chocolate and growth in consumption is on par, if not stronger, than China, the Cocoa Association of Asia said in January.

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