Sunday, many children will go to the Easter egg hunt. A religious symbol, synonymous with abundance and renewal, but also an opportunity to enjoy chocolate in all its forms. "Easter is the traditional appointment with the French chocolatiers. The values of sharing and conviviality carried by the support chocolate consumption during the festive periods, "explains Florence Pradier, general secretary of the union of chocolate.
So last year, purchases of other chickens and rabbits chocolate rose by 3.87% over the same period of 2009. In total, 13,400 tons were tasted in France to mark the Easter weekend, an average of 223 grams per person. At the sales charts, eggs, large or small, still occupy the top of the podium, even though dinosaurs or dolphins have appeared in the windows of chocolate."The large eggs or small eggs filled chocolates, milk and black are the most requested," said Arnaud Tavares, manager of the store of the Marquise de Sevigne in Paris' sixteenth arrondissement.
A distribution channel with bakeries and pastry shops account for 15% of chocolate sales in France as against 85% in supermarkets. "For us, Easter is the strongest period of the year before Christmas," Sophie adds, director of the Museum of Chocolate in Strasbourg, where traditionally it is the Rabbits and hares are popular. Taking into account the Christmas sales, which are chewed 33,800 tons of chocolate, these two periods of the year totaled more than 12% of annual sales of chocolate from France payday loans guaranteed no fax.
The price of cocoa beans has doubled in two years
"During holidays, the French are more likely to eat chocolate with an increase of 600 tons sold at Easter and Christmas 2010, the two highlights traditional chocolate consumption," says Florence Pradier. With 6.3 kg per capita in 2010, 378,000 tons, France is the 5th-largest consumer of chocolate behind Germany (11.3 kg), the European leader, and the United Kingdom (10.9 kg), his heir apparent.
In the kingdom of His Majesty, the Gauls are distinguished particularly because they are much more dark chocolate lovers as the rest of the British. The fans see it as the "only real" chocolate. In fact, dark chocolate is 30% of consumption in France, against 5% in other EU countries.During the year, the shelves are especially popular with just under a third of sales, ahead of sweets, appetizers, and other rocks, totaling a quarter of sales. The rest is divided between the spreads (19%), cocoa powder (15%) and chocolate bars (11%).
However, doubling the price of cocoa beans in two years following the civil war in Ivory Coast that supply 40% of the world, has curbed the appetite of the French. The shelf price of which is the benchmark rose 10% in two years. Result: chocolate sales on the single period of 2010 decreased by 2.9%. The question is how the market will evolve after the lull in Abidjan. Difficult to read in the dregs of cocoa!
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