ZCZC
BCN-02
BRAZIL-AGRICULTURE-COCOA-CHOCOLATE-MARKETS
Brazil cocoa follows in footsteps of famed wines, boosting prices
COARACI, Brazil, Dec 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – With an attentive eye, Henrique
Almeida watches a technician carefully open a hundred cocoa pods, while
another worker on the plantation collects samples in bags to check whether
the batch conforms to the “South Bahia” geographical indication.
Like famed wines from specific regions in Europe, such as France’s
Champagne, the geographical indication (GI) denotes the origin and quality of
the cocoa, leading to higher prices that are a boon to farmers who meet the
exacting standards.
“The production of fine cocoa and the creation of the geographical
indication label make it possible to have a profitable business and pull our
region upwards,” Almeida explained.
The 63-year-old comes from a cocoa-growing family that has been farming
for three generations. In 2006, he acquired the hundred-year-old Sagarana
farm, 148 acres (60 hectares) on a hillside in Coaraci, in the northeastern
Brazilian state of Bahia.
Farmers had previously been confined to the production of common cocoa,
intended for the chocolate industry.
But after the “witches’ broom” disease in 1989 drastically reduced the
productivity of Bahia’s cocoa trees — which provide up to 86 percent of
national output — Almeida, like other producers in southern Bahia, chose to
improve the quality of his crop in order to be able to continue growing.
“When I bought the farm, standard cocoa prices were low, and cocoa farmers
were unmotivated, while the chocolate market was doing well,” he told AFP. “I
started growing fine cocoa to make my own chocolate and add value to my
product.”
– Higher value cocoa –
He then established a production method that was longer and more precise
than that for common cocoa. After picking and opening the pods and sorting
out the quality seeds, he would put them in wooden tubs to ferment for seven
to eight days, stirring them every 24 hours to allow the chocolate aroma to
develop.
He would then leave the beans to dry in the sun for several days, covering
them in case of strong heat or rain.
MORE/HR/0902
ZCZC
BCN-03
BRAZIL-AGRICULTURE-COCOA-CHOCOLATE-MARKETS 2 LAST COARACI, Brazil
It has paid off: on average, GI-labeled cocoa costs between 40 to 160
percent more than common cocoa.
Fine cocoa currently makes up almost half of Almeida’s production, and 40
percent of the high-quality beans comply with the specifications for the
“South Bahia” GI.
This label is the result of a decade of work by Almeida and other fine
cocoa producers, as well as cooperatives and researchers, after they created
the South Bahia Cocoa Association (ACSB) to define the production rules.
The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) registered the GI in
2018.
– Quality rules –
It is the second GI given to Brazilian cocoa, after the Linhares region in
the state of Espirito Santo, which was registered in 2012, and before the
Tome-Acu, which was registered at the beginning of 2019.
The South Bahia registration established stricter qualitative criteria.
“We didn’t want a simple certification proving the historical-cultural
heritage of cocoa in the region,” said biologist Adriana Reis, a co-founder
of the ACSB.
“We wanted to use it to defend the quality of this product and protect the
environment and social rights, which would also let us differentiate
ourselves.”
In particular, for a batch of cocoa to be a GI candidate, at least 65
percent of the beans must be fully fermented, with a moisture content of less
than eight percent and less than three percent of internal defects, such as
mold, insects or sprouts.
In order to verify compliance with the rules, farmers send samples to the
Center for Cocoa Innovation (CIC), an independent laboratory founded in 2017.
If the results come back positive, the ASCB technicians will run a visual
test onsite and send a second sample from the same batch to the lab.
The association also monitors the agro-forestry production system, in
order to protect the Atlantic forest in which the cocoa trees grow and to
ensure compliance with labor codes.
Since April 2018, 25 farmers have already certified 40 tonnes of cocoa
with the GI, 15 percent of the 300 total tonnes of cocoa produced in southern
Bahia.
And the amount should increase, especially since chocolate made from GI-
stamped cocoa will also be able to carry the label.
“In order to get more farmers interested in the GI, buyers need to pay
more for this cocoa,” said Reis. “This year, we created a QR code to improve
product traceability, which is increasingly demanded by consumers.”
BSS/AFP/HR/0905