Cocoa
Beans, butter and chocolate from chapter 18 that enter the European Union (EU). Your European buyer has to declare which plot each lot comes from. The date for large and medium-sized companies is 30 December 2026.
In 2025, the EU imported cocoa and derivatives from Mexico worth USD 94.1 million. Most of it, USD 79.7 million, is cocoa butter. Germany and the Netherlands are the main destinations. The regulation requires knowing which plot each lot comes from, even if the cocoa was processed in Mexico.
Figures with sources
USD 94.1 million
cocoa and derivatives the EU imported from Mexico in 2025.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025.
USD 79.7 million
cocoa butter (1804) the EU imported from Mexico in 2025.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025.
USD 69.0 million
cocoa butter Germany imported from Mexico in 2024.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2024.
30 December 2026
application date for large and medium-sized companies. 30 June 2027 for micro and small.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, Article 38, consolidated text.
What's covered
Chapter 18 of the tariff (Annex I of the Regulation):
- 1801: cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted.
- 1802: cocoa shells, skins and other cocoa waste, except waste as defined in Directive 2008/98/EC.
- 1803: cocoa paste, whether or not defatted.
- 1804: cocoa butter, fat and oil.
- 1805: cocoa powder, unsweetened or with no other sweetener.
- 1806: chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa.
How the chain works, Mexico → EU
Producer. Plots in Tabasco and Chiapas.
Collection and processing. Centers that gather the cocoa, ferment it and dry it.
Grinding in Mexico. Plant that turns the bean into paste, butter and powder. Part of the beans processed in the country come from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and the Dominican Republic.
Mexican exporter. Ships butter, paste or chocolate to the EU.
Importer in the EU. Submits the DDS The operator that submits the due diligence statement (DDS) before selling the product. In the largest flow, the importer belongs to the same group as the exporter.
Chocolate manufacturer in the EU. Uses the product in its recipes.
What they will ask you for
- The plot of origin of each lot: coordinates or polygon.
- If the beans are imported, the geolocation of the plots of that foreign supplier.
How we help
We review your case: which cocoa you export, to which buyers and what data they will ask you for. We consolidate and verify plot data, legality and evidence, and leave them ready for the DDS.
Book your call with Geometría
We review your case: your commodity, the date that applies to you and the data you still need.
On the call we review your case: your commodity, the date that applies to you and the data you still need to comply on time.