One Dutch buyer took 25.5% of the cocoa butter exported by Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador in 2026
- Theobroma bought 25.5% of the cocoa butter exported by Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador in 2026, from six exporters in the four countries.
- Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao, in Mexico, sold 97.5% of its cocoa butter to Theobroma. Machu Picchu Foods, in Peru, sold to 67 buyers in 20 countries.
- Deodorized butter sold at US$ 11.36 per kilo and natural butter at US$ 7.13. The price fell from US$ 11.39 in January to US$ 6.86 in April.
In 2026, the cocoa butter exported from Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador went to 199 buyers in 46 countries, for US$ 190.84 million and 23,141 tonnes. One company in the Netherlands bought a quarter of it. Theobroma took US$ 48.74 million, 25.5% of the value, at US$ 6.45 per kilo, and it bought from suppliers in all four countries.
I went through the customs export records of the four countries, shipment by shipment, to see who bought the butter, 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 1,154 shipments that declare a buyer.
Some of those shipments go from a company to its own subsidiary abroad. Nestlé shipped US$ 11.45 million from Ecuador to its own company in Chile, and Barry Callebaut US$ 1.04 million from Mexico. They 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. Sales to outside buyers came to US$ 178.30 million, at an average of US$ 8.03 per kilo.
One buyer in the Netherlands, suppliers in four countries
Theobroma was the largest buyer of the year by a wide margin, with 7,560 tonnes, received in the Netherlands and Germany. The second, Albrecht Dill Trading in Germany, bought US$ 21.46 million at US$ 6.71 per kilo. Two buyers in the United States followed, Atlantic Cocoa with US$ 16.22 million at US$ 8.35 and General Cocoa with US$ 15.84 million at US$ 8.08. The three largest buyers took 45.3% of the value, and the ten largest took 80.7%.
Theobroma spread its purchases across six exporters. The largest was Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao, in Mexico, with US$ 20.53 million at US$ 6.80 per kilo, 42.1% of what Theobroma bought. Then came three Peruvian exporters, Machu Picchu Foods with US$ 9.14 million, Exportadora Romex with US$ 6.99 million and Cia Nacional de Chocolates de Peru with US$ 5.21 million, and Compania Nacional de Chocolates in Colombia, with US$ 5.83 million. Those five sold to Theobroma at between US$ 5.92 and US$ 6.80 per kilo. The sixth, Nestlé in Ecuador, sold it US$ 1.03 million at US$ 8.60.
That makes Mexico a one-buyer market. Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao sold US$ 21.06 million of cocoa butter in 2026, and 97.5% of it went to Theobroma. The rest went in small lots to Cacao Latitudes, in Belgium, at US$ 13.78 per kilo, and to Agroindustrias Picsa, in Guatemala.
Peru: two exporters, two ways of selling
Peru sold US$ 118.42 million of cocoa butter, 62.1% of the value, to 115 buyers. Two exporters account for most of it, and they sell in very different ways.
Machu Picchu Foods sold US$ 67.60 million to 67 buyers in 20 countries, at an average of US$ 9.21 per kilo. Its largest client was Cargill, with US$ 11.11 million shipped to the United States at US$ 9.84. Arcor followed with US$ 9.60 million for Chile at US$ 13.92, then Theobroma with US$ 9.14 million at US$ 6.10. Below them sits a group of buyers in Chile and Argentina: Nestlé, Helacor, Tronador and Empre, each between US$ 3.5 million and US$ 4.1 million.
Exportadora Romex sold US$ 39.70 million to only 11 buyers, at US$ 6.89 per kilo. Albrecht Dill Trading took 35.2% of it, at US$ 6.18. Theobroma, General Cocoa and Atlantic Cocoa took about US$ 7 million each, and Barry Callebaut bought US$ 2.90 million for the United States at US$ 11.17.
The gap between the two is the price a supplier gets for spreading its sales. Romex sells large volumes to traders at the market price. Machu Picchu Foods also sells to food companies in Chile and Argentina, which pay more per kilo for smaller lots.
Colombia and Ecuador
Colombia sold US$ 30.33 million, at US$ 8.22 per kilo. Compania Nacional de Chocolates sold US$ 22.20 million to 7 buyers, all of them large: Theobroma, General Cocoa, Atlantic Cocoa, Albrecht Dill Trading and Stonex. Sucesores de Jose Jesus Restrepo sold much less, US$ 6.61 million, but to 22 buyers in 16 countries and at US$ 11.18 per kilo. Its largest client, Associated Brand Industries in Trinidad and Tobago, paid US$ 19.01 per kilo, and Productos Zam Fre, in Mexico, US$ 17.90.
Ecuador recorded US$ 19.50 million, but US$ 11.45 million of it was Nestlé shipping to its own companies. The largest sale to an outside buyer came from Durancocoa, with US$ 3.17 million to 6 buyers at US$ 7.50 per kilo, most of it to Albrecht Dill Trading. Ecuador Kakao Processing Proecuakao sold US$ 2.15 million to Alpezzi Chocolate in Mexico and Clasen Quality Chocolate in the United States, at US$ 12.33.
What the price depends on
Deodorized cocoa butter, processed to remove its cocoa smell and taste, sold at US$ 11.36 per kilo in 2026. Natural butter sold at US$ 7.13. Organic butter averaged US$ 11.90, and wafers and chunks, sold in small boxes, between US$ 13.63 and US$ 14.78. Many shipments only say cocoa butter: 463 of them, worth US$ 94.56 million, at US$ 7.56 per kilo.
The month mattered as much as the type. Sales to outside buyers averaged US$ 11.39 per kilo in January and US$ 6.86 in April, 39.8% less. The price recovered to US$ 8.46 in September. Volume moved the other way: buyers took 2,036 tonnes in January and 3,102 in July.
At the small end, 297 shipments of less than one tonne went to 103 buyers in 32 countries, worth US$ 1.07 million at an average of US$ 15.06 per kilo.
Where the buyers are
Four countries bought 86.4% of the value. The United States bought US$ 62.08 million through 49 buyers, led by Atlantic Cocoa, General Cocoa and Cargill. The Netherlands followed with US$ 43.30 million, US$ 32.61 million of it bought by Theobroma, then Germany with US$ 29.90 million and Chile with US$ 29.53 million. Chile pays the most of the four, US$ 11.16 per kilo, against US$ 6.15 in the Netherlands.
Most buyers stay with one supplier. Of the 199, 183 bought from a single exporter in 2026.
After going through the numbers, I think an exporter of cocoa butter in Peru, Colombia, Mexico or Ecuador has two markets in front of it. One is a few trading houses in the Netherlands, Germany and the United States that buy thousands of tonnes at the price of the month. The other is food and chocolate companies in Chile, Argentina and a long list of smaller countries, which buy fewer kilos and pay more for deodorized, organic or small formats. The list of buyers, with what each one paid and to whom, shows which of them already buy what you make.
The numbers behind this
| Exporting country | US$ million | Share | US$ per kilo | Buyers | Main exporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | 118.42 | 62.1% | 8.14 | 115 | Machu Picchu Foods |
| Colombia | 30.33 | 15.9% | 8.22 | 37 | Compania Nacional de Chocolates |
| Mexico | 22.59 | 11.8% | 6.94 | 8 | Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao |
| Ecuador | 19.50 | 10.2% | 9.20 | 56 | Durancocoa |
| All countries | 190.84 | 100% | 8.03 | 199 |
Get the list of world cocoa butter buyers
Every buyer of cocoa butter from Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador in 2026, ranked by value, with the price each one paid per kilo and its suppliers.
See the buyer listFrequently asked questions
Who are the largest buyers of cocoa butter?
Theobroma, in the Netherlands, with US$ 48.74 million in 2026, Albrecht Dill Trading, in Germany, with US$ 21.46 million, and Atlantic Cocoa, in the United States, with US$ 16.22 million.
Who supplies cocoa butter to Theobroma?
Among the exports of Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador in 2026, its largest supplier was Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao, in Mexico, with US$ 20.53 million at US$ 6.80 per kilo. It also bought from Machu Picchu Foods, Exportadora Romex and Cia Nacional de Chocolates de Peru in Peru, Compania Nacional de Chocolates in Colombia and Nestlé in Ecuador.
What is the price of cocoa butter per kilo?
US$ 8.03 per kilo on average in 2026 for sales to outside buyers. Deodorized butter sold at US$ 11.36, natural butter at US$ 7.13, and lots of less than one tonne averaged US$ 15.06.
Which countries buy the most cocoa butter?
The United States, with US$ 62.08 million in 2026, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Chile. The four bought 86.4% of the value.
Who exports cocoa butter from Peru?
Machu Picchu Foods sold US$ 67.60 million to 67 buyers in 2026, and Exportadora Romex US$ 39.70 million to 11 buyers. Peru sold 62.1% of the value of the four countries.
Does Mexico export cocoa butter?
Yes. Mexico recorded US$ 22.59 million in 2026. Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao sold US$ 21.06 million, 97.5% of it to Theobroma in the Netherlands.