The United States annually imports more than $5 billion worth of cocoa and chocolate products, according to new data from USDA’s Economic Research Service.
With cocoa beans only grown abroad, trade is critical to meet the U.S. consumer’s fondness for cocoa-based treats. Imported shipments of chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa were the largest share of imports and were valued at almost $2.8 billion a year between 2017 and 2021. The import value of cocoa beans averaged more than $1.1 billion annually over the five-year period. Cocoa butter shipments, principally supplied by Indonesia and Malaysia, were valued at $576 million annually, while supplies of cocoa paste averaged about $293 million a year.
Cocoa beans, the raw seeds from the cacao tree that are processed into derivative products, were imported mostly from the Ivory Coast, Ecuador, and Ghana. The United States also exports chocolate and cocoa products to Canada and Mexico.
Comments