UPDATE 1 — Combined Q3 cocoa grind jumps 14% as demand continues to recover

(Updates with global grind data, comments from analyst) By Marcelo Teixeira NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Combined cocoa grind data coming from the main regions in the world that process the chocolate-making ingredient showed a 14.3% increase in volume in the third quarter to 903,129 metric tons, as demand recovered further from the 2025 slump. The jump came despite a 2.49% decrease in North America in the period to 109,978 tons, according to data released late on Thursday by the National Confectioners Association. Cocoa grind data is a key demand indicator for the market of the chocolate-making commodity. Global processing fell sharply in 2025 as plants cut cocoa buying after the price for the commodity reached an all-time high. "The increase seen so far puts processing volume back to its historical pattern," said Lucca Bezzon, cocoa analyst at broker StoneX. Europe's third-quarter grind rose 3.2%, while Asia's grind increased 29.22%. StoneX had forecast a 2.6% drop in Europe and a 17.3% gain in Asia, while it saw North America flat. Ivory Coastgrind rose 46.6% year-on-year in September, while Brazil processing gained 16% in the third quarter. The data released this week also marks