If you’re sitting down to tackle your Easter egg this Sunday you might like to know where your chocolate was produced.

Four million tonnes of chocolate were produced in the EU in 2017 – worth a total of €18.3 billion.

Eight member states produced 90% of EU chocolate in the same year.

Germany was the biggest producer. The country produced 1.3 million tonnes of the tasty treat – 32% of the EU’s total production.

Italy produced 7% (700,000t) of the total, while France and the Netherlands produced 9% (400,000t) of EU chocolate.

Across the water in the UK, 300,000t of the product were produced (7%). Belgium, which is famous for its high-end chocolate, was responsible for 300,000t (4%) of production in the EU. This was on a par with Poland.

At 100,000t, Spain produced 4% of the EU’s product.

Cocoa bean production

In 2017, approximately 5.2 million tonnes of cocoa beans were produced across the world. The Ivory Coast was responsible for the majority of this production – 38%.

Other major producers of the bean include: Ghana; Indonesia; Nigeria; Cameroon; Brazil; Ecuador.

Related to cola and mallow

The cocoa bean is a member of the Hibiscus plant family (Malvaceae) and is related to mallow plants which were formerly used in marsh mallow production; the kola nut (used to produce cola drinks); cotton plants; and linden trees.