CMA - Chocolate Manufacturers Association
  • Search Site
  • Educational Sites
  • Educational Sites
  • Association
  • Cocoa Trading & Pricing
  • Trade Journals
  • Statistical Information
  • About Us
  • The Story of Chocolate
  • Science & Nutrition
  • News & Initiatives
  • Resources

Statistical Information

Economic Profile of the US Chocolate Industry

Four hundred companies, all members of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association and the National Confectioners Association, manufacture more than 90% of the chocolate and confectionery products in the United States.  Another 250 companies supply those manufacturers. The industry is represented in 35 states with particular concentration in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, California, New York, Wisconsin, Texas, Virginia, and Ohio. Approximately 65,000 jobs in the US are directly involved in the manufacture of confectionery and chocolate products.  When the distribution and sale of these products is taken into consideration, the employment effect triples.

  • The US chocolate and confectionery industry is a principle consumer of key US agricultural commodities.  For every dollar of cocoa imported, between one and two dollars of domestic agricultural products are used in the making of chocolate.

 Sugar….3 billion pounds annually or 8 million pounds a day.  Chocolate manufacturers are the second largest users of sugar in the US most of which is domestic sugar.  The value of sugar consumed in chocolate manufacture is $800 million annually.

Milk and Milk Products…. 653 million pounds annually or 1.8 million pounds per day.  The value of dairy products consumed in the making of chocolate last year was $490 million.

Peanuts…322 million pounds of domestic peanuts annually.  The chocolate industry consumes 25% of the US crop.

Almonds…. 43 million pounds of California almonds annually valued at $67 million.

Sweeteners….1.7 billion pounds of corn syrup sweeteners are used annually valued at over $205 million

  • The US chocolate industry consumes $1.4 billion of cocoa and cocoa products.   Cocoa is not grown in the US and therefore imports $435 million of cocoa beans which are processed in the US and an additional $335 million in processed cocoa material such as paste, butter, and powder. 

47% of the total US imports of cocoa beans come from Cote d’Ivoire. Cote d’Ivoire supplies more than 40% of the world’s cocoa; and 29% of its total export revenues come from cocoa.

A typical recipe for milk chocolate includes 30-35% cocoa material.  Dark chocolate requires about 70% cocoa material.

  • The US chocolate industry generated $23.5 billion in sales last year of chocolate, chocolate confectionery, and sugar confectionery products.
    • In 2002 the industry exported more than $726 million in chocolate, chocolate confectionery, and sugar confectionery products to more than 50 countries around the world. 

    Top