Customers who visited BOV branches on Thursday were in for a sweet surprise when they were given a chocolate to commemorate International Chocolate Day.

September 13 marks International Chocolate Day and as a gesture of appreciation for their continued custom, BOV offered visitors calling at the various branches in Malta and Gozo, a sweet treat.

Chocolate is one the most popular flavours of food and is something most of us have grown up enjoying. However, very few have taken the time to learn the facts that are associated with it.

Peter Perotti, Chief Officer Personal Banking at Bank of Valletta gave his comments about this initiative. “International Chocolate Day was a good opportunity to surprise our customers with something small, as a token sign of gratitude for their loyalty and good will. It was well worth the effort to watch the delighted expression of people visiting our branches. We take this opportunity to extend our thanks to all the bank’s customers for their loyalty.”

Some interesting facts related to chocolates:

• It takes the whole of one year’s crop from one tree to make half a kilo of cocoa.

• Africa now produces over 66 per cent of the world’s supply of chocolate.

• 17,000 people in Belgium − that’s one in every 200 workers − are involved in the making, selling and promotion of chocolate.

• The first cacao trees were found growing in the Amazon river basin and the foothills of the Venezuelan and Colombian Andes.

• Chocolate is actually a valuable energy source. A single chocolate chip can provide enough energy for an adult human to walk 50 yards.

• Approximately seven billion chocolate chips are eaten each year.

• Chocolate has great health benefits. It helps with depression, high blood pressure, tumours and pre-menstrual syndrome. Chocolate can act as an anti-depressant by increasing serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain.

• People spend more than $7 billion dollars a year on chocolate.