DHL marked International Chocolate Day on Sunday, 13 September by celebrating its own successes in transporting confectionery.
Logistics specialist DHL Global Forwarding has been transporting chocolates, chocolate-related ingredients and raw materials throughout the Americas for more than 15 years, and chose the day to celebrate its achievements.
The company – part of Deutsche Post DHL Group – transports everything from raw cocoa beans to filled chocolates, providing an end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics services including air freight, warehousing and customs brokerage services.
As part of DHL’s Strategy 2020, which focuses on seizing opportunities in growing sectors and markets, DHL in the Americas has been monitoring sales of chocolate, which are projected to grow in the coming years. According to research firm Euromonitor International, chocolate sales in Latin America alone will grow by 31 percent over the next five years.
Ecuador surpassed Brazil as Latin America’s top cocoa producer in 2013 and is expected to be the fourth largest producer of cocoa beans in the world towards the end of 2015, according to Ecuador’s National Cocoa Exporters Association. Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru also produce chocolate. This presents DHL Global Forwarding with significant opportunities for growth in the Americas.
“With a large number of shipments transported via the Europe-Americas trade lane and intra-Americas, DHL helps ship from the raw cocoa bean to the finished product, in addition to the machinery to make any chocolate treat,” explains, Jannie Davel, head of air freight, DHL Global Forwarding, Americas.
