Bolivia's cacao exports reach $11 million in 2025, led by Europe
Bolivia exported cacao and its derivatives worth $11 million in 2025, shipping 1,040 tonnes to 16 markets, according to the IBCE. Germany was the top destination with 45.2% of foreign sales, confirming Europe as the dominant outlet even as volumes fell from the 2024 record.
Bolivia's cacao exports reach $11 million in 2025
Bolivia exported cacao and its derivatives worth $11 million during 2025, shipping 1,040 tonnes to 16 international markets, according to a bulletin from the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE) reported by agrositio.com.ar. The results confirm Europe as the dominant outlet for Bolivian cacao. While the annual total fell short of the record set a year earlier, it stayed comfortably above the levels the country recorded before 2024, keeping Bolivia on a longer upward path as a specialty origin.
Germany leads a European-dominated market
Germany consolidated its position as the top destination, concentrating 45.2% of the sector's foreign sales. It was followed by Belgium with 15.9%, Italy with 9.9%, France with 9.6% and Switzerland with 6%. Together, these five European buyers absorbed the large majority of Bolivia's cacao shipments, underscoring how closely the trade is tied to demand from the region's chocolate and confectionery industries. The concentration also leaves Bolivian exporters exposed to shifts in a narrow set of destination markets.
Raw beans dominate the export mix
By product, whole raw cacao beans accounted for 53.3% of foreign sales. Cacao butter with an acidity index of 1% or less represented 28.9%, while cacao powder without added sugar or other sweeteners made up 6%. The IBCE noted that most shipments still leave the country as beans, reflecting the sector's ongoing challenge to raise industrialization and capture more value before export. For importers, that mix means Bolivia supplies raw material for grinding rather than finished cacao products.
Below the 2024 record but above the longer trend
The IBCE said 2025 exports came in below the performance reached in 2024, though the sector remains above the levels registered before that year. In 2024 Bolivia set a historic record, exporting 2,319 tonnes of cacao and derivatives worth $14 million, driven by higher traded volumes and rising international prices. The 2025 decline in both tonnage and value points to softer shipments after that peak.
The longer view still shows steady expansion. In 2016 exports reached just 369 tonnes worth $2 million, illustrating the gradual growth of Bolivian cacao's presence in global markets over the past decade. With Europe continuing to absorb the bulk of supply and most volume still moving as beans, the sector's next step depends on shipping more butter and powder to lift export revenue beyond raw commodity prices.
