Global chocolate and confectionery machinery demand is projected to advance 7.1 percent per year to nearly $4 billion in 2021. Once considered luxury products in some developing nations, chocolate and other sweets have become more easily attainable as living standards increase in these countries, thus driving growth for this machinery. These and other trends are presented in "Global Food Processing Machinery, 4th Edition," a new study from The Freedonia Group (freedoniagroup.com), a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

China is the largest single market for chocolate and confectionery machinery, accounting for $750 million in sales in 2016. However, there is still considerable room for growth, as a substantial number of manual food processing techniques are still utilized there. This creates a large potential market for equipment that can speed up and increase production to meet the fast growing needs of the local population.

Central and South America will see the fastest growth of any region in the chocolate and confectionery machinery market through 2021. Despite this growth, the region will not have a significant impact on demand, as it only accounts for 5 percent of the market.