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Cocoa is the most loved fruit in the world, and on July 7th, World Chocolate Day is celebrated. In addition to being appreciated by everyone, it is also part of the daily lives of many professionals, in addition to directly driving the economy of Brazil. Brazil. According to the Brazilian Association of the Chocolate, Peanut and Candy Industry (ABICAB), the country is one of the largest producers and exporters of cocoa, be it powder, chocolate or even cocoa paste.
According to research carried out, in the first quarter of 2023 alone, 11 thousand tons of cocoa were exported, and today one of the biggest buyers of this product is Argentina, it buys 39% of exports made by Brazil.
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According to Fábio Pizzamiglio, director of Efficienza, a company specializing in foreign trade, when we talk about cocoa exports, the biggest highlight is the state of Bahia, which is responsible for 98% of the fruit's exports in the country. “Brazil is so important for this world market, that our exports reach more than 135 countries, and last year alone exports reached US＄ 228 million”, stated the executive.
Also according to ABICAB, what makes the country so strong in the market is that we have the famous “tree to bar”, which consists of carrying out all stages on national soil, from planting to packaging. Furthermore, Brazil's climate is very attractive to cocoa planting. For Pizzamiglio, cocoa fruit is not only used for direct export, but also widely used by the Brazilian chocolate industries themselves. “In Brazil alone, there are around 500 companies that deal with this food, whether small or large. All of them can still have the benefits of reaching new markets through foreign trade”, he stated.
Chocolate does not only drive trade at Easter but also on other commemorative dates. According to research on Valentine's Day, Brazilian commerce won around 12% more chocolate than in the same period last year, while on Mother's Day 23% of the products purchased were chocolates and the market is still waiting until the end of the year to hit the sales target.
Exports last year alone achieved the best results seen in the last 20 years, with US$142 million. For the executive, “the success of Brazilian chocolate in the international market is closely related to the quality of the product, which has increasingly improved with the use of regional ingredients and innovative production techniques. Furthermore, interest in products that generate little environmental impact has grown in the international market, something that this year has attracted even more buyers to national products”, stated the executive.
For the end consumer, this chocolate became a little more expensive, according to the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), the price of chocolates had the highest inflation in 6 years. So far the price of cocoa fruit has risen by an average of 21%.
“The cocoa year of 2022 and 2023 is having a supply deficit, this has been occurring due to the reduction in the production of the product, climate issues, diseases in plantations and the price of diesel and gasoline, which has only made these results worse. .”
During the Easter period of 2023, an increase of 17.69% was analyzed, the Lacta brand was the one that had the biggest increase with a variation of almost 29.02%, even with this inflation the fruit still moved 4.7% of the economy, while sales of other foods fell by 2.5%. What has been attracting the attention of the trade are the filled chocolate bars, which registered an increase in sales of 22% and 12%. In the children's area, chocolate eggs fell by 10%.
Source: Notícias Agrícolas
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