The table illustrates the cocoa bean production in six areas from 1992 to 1998.
Overall, it is clear that there were significant differences in the cocoa production from 1992 to 1998. Africa was always the biggest producer throughout the period, while Oceania and North Central America had the smallest outputs.
A close examination of the graph reveals that Africa, which held the leading position in cocoa production in all years, started at about 1.4 million tons in 1992 and slightly increased to 1.414 million in 1994. After that, it witnessed a dramatic growth to 1.92 million tons in 1996 before dropping a bit to 1.822 million in 1998. In addition, South America showed a continuous decrease. It began at 568,000 tons in 1992, then dropped gradually in each period, ending at 333,000 tons in 1998. In contrast, the Caribbean experienced a growth. It rose from 52,000 tons in 1992 to 69,000 in 1994, and then remaining stabled until 1996, before increasing again to 68,000 in 1998. Similarly, Asia’s production fluctuated, after increasing from 416,000 tons to 498,000 in 1994, it slightly declined in 1996 and remained almost the same in 1998.