One Peruvian exporter sold US$ 61.24 million of chocolate to 63 buyers in 2026

Martín Garay

Published October 2026 · Data through 11 October 2026 · 5 min read

In 2026, Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador exported US$ 401.94 million of chocolate to 1,026 buyers in 90 countries, 72,362 tonnes in all. The largest exporter selling to outside buyers was in Peru. Machu Picchu Foods sold US$ 61.24 million to 63 buyers in 12 countries, at US$ 9.46 per kilo, 86.5% of everything Peru sold.

I went through the customs export records of the four countries, shipment by shipment, to see who bought the chocolate, from whom and at what price. Each customs record names the exporter and the buyer, with the net kilos and the declared value. The price per kilo is the value divided by the kilos. I counted the 17,359 shipments that declare a buyer.

Half of this trade stays inside the same company. US$ 204.12 million, 50.8% of the value, moved between companies of one group. Ferrero shipped US$ 87.82 million to its own companies, US$ 86.13 million of it to Fervalue Usa. Nestlé shipped US$ 30.78 million, Compania Nacional de Chocolates US$ 17.09 million to other Nutresa companies and Barry Callebaut US$ 14.70 million. These shipments count in the totals, as customs records them, but I left them out of every price below, because a price between two parts of the same group says little about the market. The other US$ 197.81 million went to outside buyers.

One exporter in Peru, 63 buyers

Riverside Natural Foods, in the United States, was the largest client of Machu Picchu Foods, with US$ 15.56 million at US$ 9.08 per kilo. Chewters Chocolates, in Canada, followed with US$ 9.27 million at US$ 10.24. Then came Hu Products with US$ 3.58 million at US$ 7.61, Nestlé with US$ 3.07 million at US$ 9.94 and Equal Exchange with US$ 2.61 million at US$ 11.43.

The second exporter in Peru, Compania Nacional de Chocolates de Peru, sold US$ 1.71 million.

Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador

Colombia sold US$ 76.32 million through two large houses. Sucesores de Jose Jesus Restrepo, the company behind Casa Luker, sold US$ 32.81 million to 37 buyers in 22 countries. Its largest outside client was Trader Joe's, with US$ 11.67 million at US$ 13.94 per kilo, the highest price among the ten largest buyers. Productos Zam Fre, in Mexico, paid US$ 13.13 per kilo for US$ 2.38 million.

Compania Nacional de Chocolates sold US$ 22.54 million to 43 buyers in 37 countries, at US$ 5.32 per kilo to outside buyers. A third Colombian exporter, Ci Super, sold US$ 8.22 million to 47 buyers at US$ 3.89 per kilo, with clients in Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Mexico sold US$ 236.37 million, 58.8% of the value, and 69.1% of that went to companies of the exporter's own group. Ferrero sold US$ 94.62 million, Kraft Foods US$ 14.11 million to Mondelez companies, and Ceralto Tepeji US$ 11.94 million to Cerealto Usa. Hersmex, the Hershey company in Mexico, sold US$ 12.53 million to 7 buyers, 5 of them in Europe, at US$ 11.74 per kilo. Srg International, in the Netherlands, took US$ 6.21 million of it, and Importhaus Wilms Impuls, in Germany, US$ 3.99 million.

Ecuador sold the least, US$ 18.42 million, at the highest price, US$ 13.01 per kilo. Republica del Cacao was its largest seller, with US$ 5.57 million to 16 buyers at US$ 12.25 per kilo. Valrhona, in the United States, took US$ 3.46 million of it.

The largest buyers

The ten largest buyers took 56.0% of the value. Six of them bought mainly from their own group. Fervalue Usa, a Ferrero company, led with US$ 86.13 million, 21.4% of the total, followed by Nestlé with US$ 33.99 million and Santos with US$ 16.66 million.

Santos changes the average. It bought US$ 16.18 million from Transfer Sucro, in Mexico, in 205 shipments declared as a mixture of sugar with cocoa and lactose powder, at US$ 0.89 per kilo. That is 18,108 tonnes, 25.0% of all the tonnage in this article. With it, the average price to outside buyers is US$ 4.67 per kilo. Without it, US$ 7.50. I use the second figure from here on.

Most buyers stay with one supplier: 882 of the 1,026 bought from a single exporter in 2026.

What the price depends on

Organic chocolate sold at US$ 10.08 per kilo, across 1,057 shipments worth US$ 49.81 million, to 73 buyers from 20 exporters. The rest sold at US$ 6.84, so organic was 47.4% higher.

The form moves the price as well. Bars sold at US$ 9.81 per kilo and spreads at US$ 9.49. Bulk chocolate for industry, in drops, blocks and couverture, sold at US$ 8.59, and it was the largest form by value among outside buyers, with US$ 67.03 million. Bonbons sold at US$ 7.83, coated snacks at US$ 6.02 and drinking chocolate at US$ 4.62.

Small lots pay more. There were 10,818 shipments of less than one tonne, 62.3% of the total, sold to 852 buyers in 73 countries for US$ 23.64 million, at US$ 9.90 per kilo.

Where the buyers are

The United States bought US$ 250.74 million, 62.4% of the value, through 342 buyers. Outside buyers there paid US$ 8.50 per kilo. Canada came second with US$ 33.32 million and 49 buyers, at US$ 10.17.

Europe buys less and pays more. Germany paid US$ 12.60 per kilo and the Netherlands US$ 10.48. Latin American buyers paid about half of that: Chile US$ 5.30 across 91 buyers, Venezuela US$ 5.48 and Guatemala US$ 5.02.

After going through the numbers, I think an exporter of chocolate in these four countries sells to the 958 outside buyers, because the multinationals ship to their own companies. And 882 of the 1,026 buyers work with a single exporter. The buyers that pay the most are in Europe, Canada and the United States, and they buy organic, bars or small lots. The list of buyers, with what each one paid and to whom, shows which of them buy what you make.

The numbers behind this

Get the list of world chocolate buyers

Every buyer of chocolate from Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador in 2026, ranked by value, with the price each one paid per kilo and its suppliers.

See the buyer list