Cacao Industry

Globally the cocoa industry occupies approximately the fourth position in terms of negotiated value between tropical crops, paired with bananas and behind palm oil and rubber. Approximately 70% of world cocoa production resides in West Africa with approximately 67% of world production concentrated in the Ivory Coast and Ghana.

The lack of sustainable supply, combined with the continuing structural problems of production linked to West Africa and Indonesia, is causing a shift in the industry towards cocoa development in regions where there is the potential for more reliable commercial production as in Central America and the Andean region of South America.

Climate and agronomy

Cocoa is native to Latin America and the potential for expansion in the region is significant, particularly in Central America. The weather and climate characteristics in Central America are proving ideal for cocoa cultivation.

Sustainability

All of Cacao Oro’s operations are in the process of formal certification and are operated under internationally recognized independent standards of sustainability, including UTZ. The operations are also developed under an agroforestry model that includes an active reforestation program for degraded land using native species such as Cedro Macho, Mahogany, and Nanciton.

Global demand

The main end-user of cocoa production is the confectionery industry. The value of the global sales from the confectionery industry was approximately $198 billion in 2014, of which approximately $ 120 billion came from chocolate products. The USDA estimates that world chocolate sales will grow at 6.7% per year going forward.

Process

The cocoa supply chain includes cultivation, fermentation, drying, trade and processing. The most important steps in the process are cultivation, fermentation and drying, these steps are the main components of higher added-value in the value chain.