According to the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), Brazil had several reasons to celebrate its chocolate production. The country is the 7th largest cocoa producer in the world and also the 7th largest exporter of the product and its derivatives.
According to the National Association of Cocoa Processing Industries (AIPC), Brazil exported last year 33,521 tons of chocolate, and 54,756 tons of cocoa byproducts, generating $ 226 million dollars. The main destination for Brazilian chocolate is Argentina, followed by the United States, and Chile.
Regarding the export of cocoa beans, the volume sold in 2021 reached 567 tons.
In the period from January to May 2022, 14,038 tons of chocolate, 20,232 tons of byproducts, and 273 tons of cocoa beans were exported by Brazil, AIPC explained.
Apex pointed out that the fine cocoa produced in the Amazon is considered one of the best. In 2021, three Brazilian cocoa producers were awarded among the 50 best in the world at the Cocoa of Excellence Awards. In the same year, Belgian chocolate Nicolas, produced with almonds from Pará, took second place in the Belgium Chocolate Awards 2022 contest.
Internationalization
ApexBrasil promotes the internationalization of Brazilian chocolate, through the Brasil Sweets & Snacks project, developed in 1998 in partnership with the Brazilian Association of Chocolate, Cocoa, Peanut, Candy, and Derivatives Industry (Abicab). The project aims to promote the image of Brazilian cocoa as a quality raw material for the production of fine chocolate and support the access of companies and producers in the sector to the main international markets.
Participation in fairs and events abroad is one of the main actions of the project.
In 2022, Brasil Sweets & Snacks took six Brazilian companies in the sector to the largest and most important sweets and cookies fair in the world, held annually in Germany, ISM Köln, when $ 1.3 million dollars in immediate business were generated. Five other Brazilian companies participated in the largest pastry and snacks exhibition in North America – Sweets & Snacks, in Chicago, where $ 580 thousand dollars in immediate business, and $ 6 million dollars in business expectations for the coming months were 
generated.
Bahia and Pará are the Brazilian states that most produce cocoa in the country – 90 percent of the national production. Brazilian cocoa is produced in agroforestry systems that preserve the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon.
“There are several varieties of cocoa. Depending on the region where they are produced, they have a terroir that is only found in Brazil. All this cocoa quality is reflected in the production of chocolate, whether industrially or handcrafted, with high quality and recognition, through international awards,” explained Abicab`s head, Ubiracy Fonseca.
Data from Abicab, collected by KPMG, reveal that the Brazilian chocolate industry registered in the first quarter of 2022, an expansion of 6 percent in production, compared to the same period of the previous year. 201 thousand tons were produced, against 189 thousand tons in 2021. The sector generates about 20 thousand direct jobs in Brazil.
Source: Agência Brasil