German Q3 2022 cocoa grind down 4.7% on year – BDSI

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HAMBURG — Germany’s third-quarter 2022 cocoa grind fell 4.7% on the year to 100,149 tonnes, the German confectionery industry association BDSI said on Thursday, following a 3.7% increase in the second quarter.

The dramatic rise in Germany’s energy costs, which are higher than in some other EU countries, had contributed to the fall, an association spokesperson said.

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Germany has suffered especially heavily from cuts in Russian gas supplies following the war in Ukraine.

The German confectionery industry’s electricity costs in 2021 were estimated at around 250 million euros ($242.6 million), but are expected to rise to about 2.5 billion euros this year with the same energy use, the association said.

Some other EU countries, such as France and Spain, which have put brakes on energy price rises, currently have a significant advantage in production costs, the association said.

($1 = 1.0306 euros) (Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Jan Harvey)