Moscow, Oct. 23 - Chocolate consumption in Russia will rise 32% during the next four years, Swiss chocolate company Barry Callebaut AG said in an interview published Tuesday in the Vedomosti business daily.
The average Russian currently eats 4.4 kilograms of chocolate a year, but this will rise to 5.8 kilograms by 2011, Chief Executive Patrick De Maeseneire said.
Barry Callebaut opened its first Russian plant in September with an annual capacity of 27,500 tons. It has 50 foreign and local clients, including Switzerland's Nestle SA.