Cocoa Butter Market Data, Composition and Trade

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-11Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$3.9B

Producing countries tracked

9

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

3

Trade corridors

3

Latest reviewed evidence

The figures below are current requirements from the FAO/WHO Codex Standard for Cocoa Butter CXS 86-1981, amended in 2026. The standard defines an ingredient scope, composition, processing-aid, hygiene, labeling and analytical boundaries; it does not establish current availability, a physical offer, a futures value or a live delivered cocoa-butter price.

Cocoa butter free fatty acid maximum

1.75

percent by mass expressed as oleic acid · CXS 86-1981, amended 2026

Cocoa butter unsaponifiable matter maximum

0.7

percent by mass · CXS 86-1981, amended 2026

Press cocoa butter unsaponifiable matter maximum

0.35

percent by mass · CXS 86-1981, amended 2026

Hexane processing-aid maximum excluding press cocoa butter

1

milligram per kilogram · CXS 86-1981, amended 2026

Cocoa butter, press cocoa butter and other cocoa products stay separate

CXS 86-1981 defines cocoa butter as the fat obtained from cocoa beans and applies only when it is used as an ingredient in chocolate and chocolate products. The standard permits the name press cocoa butter for product conforming to the specific definition. Cocoa beans, nibs, cocoa mass or liquor, cocoa cake, cocoa powders and finished chocolate remain different commercial identities. Atlas retains product name, extraction route, refining or deodorization state and intended use before comparing quality, price or trade records.

Free fatty acids and unsaponifiable matter use explicit bases

The current Codex standard caps free fatty acids at 1.75 percent by mass expressed as oleic acid. Unsaponifiable matter may not exceed 0.7 percent by mass for cocoa butter generally, while press cocoa butter has the tighter 0.35 percent maximum. Atlas keeps the named product, analytical basis, sample, method, laboratory, certificate and test date together; a number without its basis is not treated as comparable evidence.

Processing aids, hygiene and labeling remain traceable

No food additives are permitted in products conforming to CXS 86-1981. The standard lists a 1 milligram per kilogram maximum for hexane with a 62 to 82 degree Celsius boiling range, excluding press cocoa butter, and points to the Codex processing-aid guidelines. It also references general food-hygiene, microbiological, prepackaged-labeling, non-retail-container-labeling and current analysis and sampling texts. Atlas retains extraction and processing disclosures, test evidence, packaging identity and the applicable standard vintage rather than inferring compliance from a product name.

A composition standard is not a delivered physical price

Codex requirements establish the identity and composition boundary for a chocolate ingredient, not current availability or price. A delivered cocoa-butter price still requires exact product and process state, origin and production vintage, current permitted physical observations, analytical results, lot quantity, package or bulk format, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, freight and information vintage. Atlas withholds unsupported physical pricing when those fields or usage rights are missing and never substitutes a cocoa-bean futures reference or cocoa-powder value.

Questions procurement teams ask

Are cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, cocoa cake and cocoa powder interchangeable?

No. Cocoa butter is the fat obtained from cocoa beans; liquor or mass, cake and powder are separate processed products with different composition, specifications and uses.

What is the Codex free-fatty-acid maximum for cocoa butter?

CXS 86-1981 sets a maximum of 1.75 percent by mass expressed as oleic acid. The expression basis, sample and current analysis method remain attached to the result.

How does the unsaponifiable-matter limit differ for press cocoa butter?

The general cocoa-butter maximum is 0.7 percent by mass, while press cocoa butter may not exceed 0.35 percent by mass under the current Codex standard.

Which fields make physical cocoa-butter offers comparable?

Cocoa butter or press cocoa butter identity, bean and processing origin where available, extraction and refining or deodorization state, colour and odour, free-fatty-acid and unsaponifiable-matter evidence, residual processing-aid and safety controls, production and packing dates, lot, package or bulk format, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.