(Reuters) – Chocolate sales in China should grow to $4.3 billion by 2019, up nearly 60 percent from $2.7 billion in 2014 and driven by demand from the growing urban population, a senior Hershey officer forecast on Wednesday.
The increase projected by Hershey International president Bert Alfonso reflects the chocolate industry‘s continued bet on growing emerging market consumption, despite recent indications of slowing demand in fast-growing Asian markets.
Hershey (HSY.N), which has been making chocolate for more than a century, expects to benefit from this demand boom, Alonso said in a webcast heard by Reuters of the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference.
He projected the company’s China sales would grow by 35 percent to $450 million in 2015. Based on that figure, chocolate sales in China made up around 4.5 percent of Hershey’s $7.4 billion in total revenue in 2014.
The growth comes as Hershey integrates pro
via China chocolate market seen growing to $4.3 billion by 2019: Hershey | Reuters.
