Davao Could Be A Key Global Supplier of Cocoa

The Philpress News & Features reported earlier this year that global cocoa buyers have high hopes for the Davao area's cacao producing potential. According to the article:

"Among Asian countries, the Philippines has the smallest production of cacao beans at around 5,000 metric tons of cacao beans last year. Its highest production was in 1980 with 20,000 tons and 1990 with 35,000 tons, declining over the years as farmers abandoned cacao farming for other more profitable crops. "

Asia has a large cocoa processing industry but hardly enough fermented cacao beans to process. Indonesia has the biggest cocoa production at 600,000 tons last year. Papua New Guinea had 50,000 tons and Malaysia had 17,000 tons. India produced 7,000 tons last year and the Philippines produced only 5,000 tons. Vietnam only produced 1,000 tons last year.

Japan, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia all have large cocoa processing centers importing 220,000 metric tons of raw cacao fermented beans last year from the Ivory Coast in West Africa.

Meeting the Philippine goal of producing 100,000 tons of cacao by 2020 will elevate the country, especially its high cacao-producing port city of Davao, to becoming a key global supplier.

High Hopes from Malaysian Trader

The Philpress News & Features earlier this year reported about a Malaysian trader who said that his company is poised to buy all of the cacao produced from the Philippine region over the next 10 years. He says that Davao is a perfect location for producing cocoa because of the great soil, the good rain fall, and the area is not often hit by extreme weather.

Quite simply, the demand for cacao is greater than supply sources. Even with the Philippines meeting its goal for producing 100,000 metric tons by 2020, there would still be larger demand both locally and internationally for cocoa.

The 2020 Challenge

Earlier this year, the Philpress News & Features announced a goal for the Philippines to plant 58 million cacao trees by the year 2020. It will require 130,000 filipino farmers planting 7 million cacao trees every year. This will produce 100,000 metric tons of cocoa by 2020.

This was a challenge set by ACDI/VOCA who has been actively assisting the filipino cacao farming industry.

With a modest price of $2500 per metric ton, this is a potential of $250 million in export earnings for the Philippines cocoa industry. The global market price is about $3400 per metric ton.

Since cacao is a great crop that can be planted along side existing ones, farmers who already planting coconut, banana, and mango trees can easily plant cacao and be part of the growing opportunity.