Canada continues to be the major exporter of chocolate to the United States.

Mexico is a distant second; once-mighty Brazil and other countries are no longer big players.

The charted values cover mostly wholesale chocolate for the food-service and food-manufacturing industries.

Here “chocolate” comprises chocolate bars and slabs weighing more than two kilograms each, cocoa paste, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder. Popular sweets such as Mars Bars, Kit Kats, and Hershey's Kisses are not included in the data.

The power of NAFTA

The US Department of Agriculture says that “North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico are not only the main destinations for US exports but also the main suppliers of chocolate candy to the US market.”

But does that doesn't necessarily mean that Canada's and Mexico's stronger presence is because of NAFTA—does it? NAFTA took effect in 1994; perhaps a line chart covering the years 1989 through 2014 would reveal some clues. Stay tuned!

Import values of chocolate entering US ports and their origin of shipment, 1989 and 2014
(1989 values were adjusted for inflation.)

Source: USDA, www.fas.usda.gov/gats