Demand loses strength and cocoa imports has significant fall

Although the Brazilians make the country the third largest consumer of chocolate in the world, the slowdown of the domestic consumption, coupled with a national offer more fleshy, took the cocoa processing industries in the country, with an idle capacity, reduce significantly the almond imports.
In the first five months of the year, imports totaled 11.018 million tonnes, a retreat of 68.7% compared to the same period in 2014. The recipe of these purchases reached $ 33,252 million during the period, a drop of 62.7 percent on the same comparison, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture compiled by the value.
Only twice in the last ten years in the import of cocoa in this time span was shorter than the recorded this year: in 2011, when the Brazil acquired 10.917 thousand tons of cocoa in the external market between January and may, and in 2013, when the amount imported in the period totaled 11.002 thousand tons.
With less raw material factories, idle plants this year is in%, considering a 30.72 milling capacity of 104.167 tons for the period, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Cocoa processors Industries (AIPC) at the request of the value.
The situation is worse than in 2014, when industries closed the year with an average of 10% idle. For the first five months of the year, the performance is even weaker than that of 2009, when the country also suffered reflections of international crisis.
Survey of TH consulting, headquartered in Salvador, showed that the grinding of cocoa in 2014/15, which ended in April, reached 225.8 thousand tons, the lowest volume in six seasons.
"The internal market has had a very big reduction and the prospect is that does not have a recovery this year. We thought that there might be a recovery in the second half, but now forecasts are pessimistic, "said Walter Tegani, Secretary Executive of the AIPC.
The increasing import of the final product, the chocolate, at a time of reduced consumption, also contributes to the retraction of the grinding. Thomas Hartmann, from TH consulting, says that many companies operating in the country prefer to bring the candy from their factories in other countries because of the high cost of production in Brazil.
According to the Brazilian Association of Chocolate, cocoa, Peanuts, hard candies and derivatives (Abicab), between January and may have been imported 11.469 thousand tons of chocolate, 25% more than in same period in 2014.
Second Tegani, chocolate is the biggest competitor of the national product. According to the data of the Ministry of agriculture, the neighboring country was the source of 16% of the imports of chocolate stuffed, stuffed and chocolate-based products in the first five months of this year.
The weakness of demand explains a good part of the story, but not all. It is also true that national cocoa production recorded significant recovery in 2014/15, according to preliminary assessments. According to the survey of TH consulting, the almond crop in the country amounted to 214.3 million tons, an increase of 63% in comparison with the previous season (2013/14), when the Brazilian production reached a total of 131.2 million tons.
Despite the higher offer, Hartmann says the last harvest almond had low quality and remember that imports serve as a supplement to improve the quality of the products.
In addition, the segment also weakens with the strengthening of external competition. Until may, imports of cocoa butter (main ingredient of chocolate) surpassed in more than 200 times the volume of the foreign market in the same period in 2014. Already purchases of defatted cocoa paste retreated 74% on the same basis of comparison, and amounted to 285.874 thousand tons.