Brazil bought 76.5% of the cocoa shells exported by Peru and Ecuador in 2026
- Brazil bought 76.5% of the cocoa shells exported by Peru, Ecuador and Colombia in 2026, at US$ 0.62 per kilo.
- Machu Picchu Foods supplied 77% of what Brazil bought, and each large Brazilian buyer paid more for Peruvian shells than for Ecuadorian ones.
- Crushed, roasted and organic shells sold for more. Italy paid US$ 3.79 per kilo, mostly for one lot of finely crushed shells.
In 2026, the cocoa shells exported from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia went to 29 buyers in 10 countries, and one country took most of them. Brazil bought US$ 3.01 million of the US$ 3.94 million recorded, 76.5% of the value, and 4,826 of the 6,747 tonnes.
I went through the customs export records of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico, shipment by shipment, to see who bought the shells, from whom and at what price. The method is the same for every figure here. 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 161 shipments that declare a buyer.
Peru shipped 74% of that value at an average of US$ 0.64 per kilo, and Ecuador 26% at US$ 0.46. Colombia sent two small lots.
After going through the numbers, I think cocoa shells from these origins are a bulk business. Lots of 10 tonnes or more made up US$ 3.90 million of the US$ 3.94 million, at US$ 0.58 per kilo, and the price per kilo only climbs when the shells are crushed fine, roasted or certified organic.
Brazil, the bulk market
Four Brazilian companies bought cocoa shells in 2026, and three of them took almost all of it. Fralia Industria Comercio bought US$ 1.09 million, Industria Capixaba de Cacau also US$ 1.09 million and Ocra Cacau US$ 816,000. Brazil paid an average of US$ 0.62 per kilo, close to the US$ 0.58 average of all buyers.
Most of it came from one Peruvian exporter. Machu Picchu Foods supplied 77% of the value Brazil bought, and it was the main supplier of each of the three large buyers: 84% of the purchases of Fralia Industria Comercio, 58% of Industria Capixaba de Cacau and 93% of Ocra Cacau.
Peru supplied 85% of what Brazil bought. Brazil paid US$ 0.65 per kilo for Peruvian shells and US$ 0.49 for Ecuadorian ones, and each of the three large buyers paid more for the Peruvian shells. Industria Capixaba de Cacau paid US$ 0.60 per kilo in Peru and US$ 0.43 in Ecuador. Fralia Industria Comercio paid US$ 0.66 and US$ 0.57, and Ocra Cacau US$ 0.72 and US$ 0.60.
Brazil bought every month from January to September. Its purchases ranged from US$ 205,000 in April to US$ 419,000 in September, and its monthly average price stayed between US$ 0.49 and US$ 0.67 per kilo.
The other bulk buyers
Two more countries bought by the hundreds of tonnes, at lower prices than Brazil. Siha Colorchem, in Cambodia, bought 995 tonnes at US$ 0.34 per kilo, the lowest average of any country. F Pache Industrial y Comercial, in Uruguay, bought 671 tonnes at US$ 0.47.
Panama and Argentina bought about 110 tonnes each. In Panama, Lazzaro Zona Libre Colon and Agallu Internacional paid an average of US$ 1.14 per kilo for crushed shells. Six Argentine buyers, led by Mikasil, Villares and Dalamy, paid US$ 0.68.
Processed shells, at a higher price
The highest prices came with more work on the shell. Italy paid the highest average of the countries that bought at least one tonne, US$ 3.79 per kilo. Most of it was one lot of 10 tonnes that Incos Cosmeceutica Industriale bought from Amazon Specialties, shells crushed to between 0.2 and 2 millimetres, at US$ 3.70.
In the United States, Horner International bought 15 tonnes of crushed shells from Machu Picchu Foods at US$ 1.10 per kilo. The country had 7 buyers in all, with 18 tonnes at US$ 1.15.
At the small end, 19 shipments of less than one tonne went to Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy and the United States, worth US$ 7,000 at US$ 2.64 per kilo. Switch Supply, in Australia, paid US$ 5.60 for organic shells, Peru Puro, in Germany, US$ 4.00 for organic shells and Marco Aurelio Fernandez Concha, in Canada, US$ 3.56 for roasted ones.
One product is left out of these figures. Exporters in Ecuador, and one in Peru, also declare cocoa fruit pulp and cocoa concentrate under the cocoa shell heading: 24 shipments with a declared buyer, worth US$ 120,000 at US$ 6.31 per kilo, sold mostly by Cultivagro to Cacao Latitudes in Belgium, Partners Japan Yamate and Atlantic Cocoa.
For an exporter of cocoa shells, the choice of market is mostly a choice of how much work goes into the shell. Brazil, Cambodia and Uruguay buy hundreds of tonnes at well under a dollar per kilo. Italy, Panama and the United States pay more for crushed shells, and a few buyers pay several dollars for organic or roasted lots. The list of buyers by country, with what each one paid and to whom, shows where each lot fits.
The numbers behind this
| Buyer country | US$ thousand | Share | Tonnes | US$ per kilo | Main buyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 3,012 | 76.5% | 4,826 | 0.62 | Fralia Industria Comercio |
| Cambodia | 342 | 8.7% | 995 | 0.34 | Siha Colorchem |
| Uruguay | 317 | 8.1% | 671 | 0.47 | F Pache Industrial y Comercial |
| Panama | 123 | 3.1% | 108 | 1.14 | Lazzaro Zona Libre Colon |
| Argentina | 80 | 2.0% | 118 | 0.68 | Mikasil |
| Italy | 38 | 1.0% | 10 | 3.79 | Incos Cosmeceutica Industriale |
| United States | 20 | 0.5% | 18 | 1.15 | Horner International |
| All countries | 3,937 | 100% | 6,747 | 0.58 |
Get the list of world cocoa shell buyers
Every buyer of cocoa shells from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia in 2026, ranked by value, with the price each one paid per kilo and its suppliers.
See the buyer listFrequently asked questions
Which country buys the most cocoa shells?
Brazil. In 2026 it bought US$ 3.01 million of the cocoa shells exported by Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, 76.5% of the value, and 4,826 tonnes.
Who are the largest cocoa shell buyers?
Fralia Industria Comercio and Industria Capixaba de Cacau, with US$ 1.09 million each in 2026, followed by Ocra Cacau with US$ 816,000. The three are in Brazil.
What is the price of cocoa shells per kilo?
US$ 0.58 per kilo on average in 2026. Bulk lots of 10 tonnes or more also averaged US$ 0.58, and lots under one tonne US$ 2.64.
Who supplies cocoa shells to Brazil?
Mostly Machu Picchu Foods, from Peru, with 77% of the value Brazil bought in 2026. Ecuador Kakao Processing Proecuakao, Exportadora Romex and Natigold followed.
Which country pays the most for cocoa shells?
Italy, at US$ 3.79 per kilo among the countries that bought at least one tonne, mostly for one lot of finely crushed shells bought by Incos Cosmeceutica Industriale. Brazil paid US$ 0.62.