Hamburg, April 12 - Germany's first quarter 2007 cocoa grind rose 10.7 percent on the year to 87,851 tonnes, the association of German confectionery producers BDSI said on Thursday.
Traders had expected another large quarterly rise on the year due to strong chocolate sales, high German exports of semi finished cocoa products and a major takeover that returned substantial German grinding capacity into operation.
This follows constant rises last year. Grindings for the full year 2006 were up 29.7 percent against 2005 to 322,232 tonnes.