Barry Callebaut Q3 volumes rise after two-year fall

Barry Callebaut said its sales volumes rose in the March-to-May quarter, the first increase in two years, as some customers replenished stocks after a period of high prices.

The Swiss-based chocolate and cocoa products group said volumes rose 5.7 percent in the third quarter. Over the first nine months of its financial year, sales volume fell 2.8 percent to 1.5 million tonnes.

Barry Callebaut warned that any improvement would be gradual and forecast that sales volumes for the full financial year to the end of August would be down about one percent.

The company said Asia, the Middle East and Africa boosted sales over the nine-month period, while Western Europe fell 2.5 percent and North America fell 7.6 percent. Turnover over the nine months fell 12.7 percent from a year earlier to 9.5 billion Swiss francs, or $11.75 billion.

Barry Callebaut supplies cocoa and chocolate preparations to major food companies, including Hershey, Mondelez and Nestlé, as well as makers of cakes, cookies and ice cream. It said demand for cocoa powder and stock replenishment by some customers helped the latest quarterly increase.

Cocoa prices hit $12,931 a tonne in New York in December 2024, before falling to $2,846 a tonne through 2025 and early 2026. Prices have recently moved back up to $4,613 a tonne, with concerns including possible fertiliser supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz and the impact of El Nino on harvests.