Subject: Organic Chocolate

Selling for $7.00 a kilogram is quite an increase from the $2.00 per kilogram that Venezuelan farmers were receiving for conventional cacao beans just a few years ago. This price jump is the result of new organic farming methods funded by the Venezuelan government who has put $10 million dollars into research and training.

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Being sought for production of high end single bean malt whisky in Europe and the USA organic cacao is bringing the highest price ever to the cocoa growers of Venezuela. These growers are taking their production one step further and have now begun to produce their own chocolate as well.

Nearly half of every day is spent caring for the trees, monkeys, rats and squirrels eat the pulp of the pods, even though they do not eat the seeds. Insects and bad weather are other problems; a river going over its banks can wipe out a stand of young cacao trees in a matter of hours.

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Twice the work is required because they use only natural compost on their trees rather than fertilizers that are man made. However this is well worth it when they sell their beans directly to foreign chocolate manufacturers, effectively eliminating the local intermediaries. An association of organic cacao farmers has been created by fifty families who have joined forces to aid each other in this endeavor. Those who bid on the Venezuelan cocoa have said that it is fine, elegant and has a consistent aroma, it would be good to see more being exported, but only at a fair price.

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In the seaside village of Cata, a handful of cooperatives have begun processing their own chocolate, as visitors enter the shops of the village the sweet smell of melting chocolate greets them. Some of the products they offer are chocolate punch, wine and pudding.

Asked if they would be exporting their products, tourists have been told that export would be the next step for them.

Thank you,

Bill Anderson
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