Cocoa-bean grindings in Brazil rise 7.5pct in the Q1

Cocoa-bean grindings in Brazil rose 7.5 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to analyst Thomas Hartmann. The total of beans processed rose to 57,618.9 metric tonnes compared with 53,592.8 tonnes in the first quarter last year, Salvador, Brazil-based Hartmann wrote in an e-mail. The total for March was down 1.8 per cent from a year earlier.