Hamburg, Jan 8 - Germany's fourth quarter 2006 cocoa grind rose 19.8 percent on the year to 84,240 tonnes, the association of German confectionery producers BDSI said on Monday.
Traders had expected another large quarterly rise on the year due to a major takeover that returned substantial German grinding capacity into operation in 2005 along with strong retail chocolate sales.
Grindings for the full year 2006 were up 29.7 percent against 2005 to 322,232 tonnes, the BDSI said.