TT must ramp up its cocoa production

TRINIDAD and Tobago cannot continue with its low volumes of cocoa production but it must be ramped up, says chairman of the Cocoa Development Company Winston Rudder.

He was speaking as officials of the company met with the Public Administration (Enterprises) Committee at the Parliament building Wednesday.

Rudder said the impetus for the company is the critical role cocoa can and does play as a strategic commodity and can be beneficial to agricultural development, economic diversification, foreign exchange and improve livelihoods.

He said the world cocoa production is between 4.5 million to 4.9 million metric tonnes and five per cent of the market was high quality, fine or flavoured cocoa. He pointed out TT is one of 10 countries in the world recognised by the International Cocoa Organisation for having 100 per cent high quality cocoa.

Rudder said the market for high quality, fine or flavoured cocoa was relatively small, highly specialised, extremely lucrative and growing. He reported the price for raw high quality cocoa beans was between US $3,500 to $10,000 per metric tonne while for ordinary bulk cocoa was $2,200 per tonne or less. He explained the reason for the high price was the high quality end products from high quality cocoa.

He said in the 1920s TT was producing 25,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans but now it was barely 500 metric tonnes. He said overall volumes have gone down significantly for various reasons.

Rudder said prior to the current board of the company there was a nascent, embryonic industry for value added, local chocolatiers taking high quality cocoa beans and producing excellent, high quality chocolate “which resonates in the markets and the mouths of people who taste it.”

He explained that TT was in the final processes of providing evidence to the International Cocoa Organisation to retain status as a producer of high quality cocoa. He stressed, however, ten additional countries were also seeking to qualify for that market.

“If we continue with the low volumes that we are producing now and if we do not continue to maintain high quality production we stand to work ourselves out of the chocolate formulations and recipes. So the challenge we confront as a people, as an industry, is to ramp up production while at the same time keeping our quality high.”

He said one of possible challenges is the level of investment needed for industry. He added that, based on data and technical prowess in TT and collaborative work that can be done there is a possibility TT can increase production to 12,000 metric tonnes over the next 10 years.

He said based on critical examination and assessment, research and development work already done on domestic production, availability of markets, and work done at the Cocoa Research Centre there is scope and opportunity.

“We want to take the industry to the point where we can develop a significant domestic value-added industry expanding into providing more employment opportunities and economic activity by more production of value added while also exporting high quality beans into selected niche markets.”