German chocolate manufacturers have increased their production by 1.7 per cent up to 1.2 million tons, the German Confectionery Industry Association, BDSI, based in Bonn reported on Tuesday.
The increase was made in spite of last year’s high inflation and a weaker economy.
Per capita consumption in Germany has slightly increased to an estimated 9.56 kilogrammes.
Anticipating Easter, each citizen is expected to eat more than one chocolate bunny, with the industry producing 108 million chocolate bunnies for sale in Germany.
But the confectionery industry has also not been exempt from inflation, which is noticeable in the value of chocolate goods produced in Germany rising faster than production, by 4.5 per cent to around €6.2 billion ($6.7 billion).
Especially exports increased strongly.
Debates around healthy diets have not affected the country’s appetite for chocolate: In the early 1980s the estimate for per person consumption was considerably lower at 6.5 kilogrammes.
These numbers should be interpreted cautiously since definitions of chocolate products have changed over the past decades, according to a BDSI spokeswoman.
According to the BDSI, the favourite flavour remains milk chocolate despite many manufacturers adding dark chocolate with high amounts of cocoa to their range.
Vegan variants and products using cocoa from specific countries of origin such as Ecuador or Peru are being increasingly offered on the market.
dpa/NAN
