The World Leaders in Chocolate Trade

World Chocolate Day, celebrated on July 7th every year, pays homage to one of the world's most beloved treats: chocolate. Native to Central and South America, chocolate and cocoa have a long history, with the Aztecs and Mayans among the most well-known indigenous populations to have cultivated cocoa. According to the World Cocoa Foundation, researchers have found evidence of cocoa-based food dating back several thousand years, and it has since become an inseparable part of our culture.

Chocolate is not only a delicious treat but also a prime example of globalization. While countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Ecuador, Cameroon and Indonesia are among the world’s largest producers of cocoa beans, the beans are then shipped around the world to Europe, where most of the world’s largest chocolate producers are located. The cocoa beans are then processed, i.e. roasted and ground, before the resulting cocoa butter is used in chocolate manufacturing.

According to UN Comtrade data, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands were the world’s leading exporters of chocolate and other cocoa-based food preparations last year, exporting 1,009, 594 and 482 million kilograms, respectively. In terms of export value, Germany was also far ahead of the rest, with total chocolate exports worth $5.6 billion in 2022, ahead of Belgium and Italy with exports worth $2.8 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.

The world’s leading importers of finished chocolate products were the United States, France and Germany last year. The U.S. imported 746 million kilograms worth $3.8 billion in 2022, with Canada, Mexico, Belgium and Germany as the largest source countries.