The global organic chocolate market was projected to grow in size from 734 million U.S. dollars to 886 million U.S. dollars between 2012 and 2018. As such, organic chocolate seems to have increased in popularity in recent years.
Organic Chocolate Candy
A bar of organic chocolate may seem indistinguishable from a bar of regular chocolate; the biggest difference between the two is that organic chocolate is made from cocoa beans grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or herbicides, as well as with organic sugar and milk. In the United States,
organic chocolate confectionary makes up the majority of the organic confectionary market, with retail sales of about 261 million U.S. dollars in 2017.
Global Cocoa Production
A large share of the world’s chocolate production is attributed to two African countries: Côte d'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast, and Ghana. In the 2017/2018 crop year, Ivory Coast’s cocoa bean production reached two million metric tons, while the cocoa bean production volume in Ghana amounted to 880 thousand metric tons in that time period.
The leading processor of cocoa beans is the Netherlands. In 2018/2019, the Netherlands processed 600 thousand tons of cocoa beans.