Page 22 - IB AUG 2019

Agriculture

and fermentation trials and organising
propagation workshops,” according to
Oakeshott.
The project partnership is being replicat-
ed in PNG, which has a flourishing cocoa
industry and a dedicated body – the Cocoa
Board of PNG – that specifically looks after
the K350million industry.
To select samples for the international
CoEx, PNG also held a local version of
CoEx in Lae last month, for the second
year running.
The event was attended by thousands
in the cocoa industry, including farmers,
buyers, processors, cooperative groups,
exporters and other stakeholders.
PNG is the Pacific region’s biggest cocoa
producer, exporting around 40,000 tonnes
of cocoa beans worth Kina350 million
(US$103 million) annually.
Opening the PNG CoEx awards, Minister
for National Planning and Implementation
Richard Maru said PNG is committed to
Inspecting dried cocoa in PNG Photo: ACIAR-TADEP hitting the billion kina mark by 2022 in
cocoa exports.
World class cocoa crop in the country,” Maru was quoted
“Cocoa has the potential to be a bigger

Pacific cocoa contenders at global awards as saying by the Papua New Guinea Post
Courier.
“By 2022, PNG wants to hit a produc-
tion rate four times greater than what it is
“It was the first Fiji cacao competition producing today and expand to over a K1
for farmers to test their farm-gate product billion-plus on exports.”
against other local and then international The PNG competition produced seven
growers. Seven Fijian farmers entered winners and their cocoa bean samples
this competition held in Nadi in Feb 2019. were sent to the CoEx 2019 Awards.
Three winners were selected and each “For this 2019 Edition, we received
By Dionisia Tabureguci supplied 5kg of fermented beans that have 223 samples from 55 cocoa-producing
been sent to France,” John Oakeshott, countries,” CoEx said.
THREE South Pacific cocoa operators have Research & Development Coordinator at “The CoEx Technical Committee com-
been named amongst the top 50 cocoa SPC’s Land Resources Department, told pleted the evaluation of all accepted
producers from around the world and will Islands Business. samples transformed into liquor and we
participate in the prestigious International Cocoa beans from the three finalist are pleased to announce the names of the
Cocoa Awards (ICA) in France in October. farms were fermented by SPC then sent producers of the best 50 samples. The next
They are Manoa Raika Farm from Sa- off to France for the CoEx Awards. step is the evaluation of these samples pro-
vusavu, Fiji and two Papua New Guinea “After the cocoa pods are harvested, cessed into chocolate in September for the
producers: Solita Cocoa Farm from Kun- they are split open and beans extracted. selection of the 2019 International Cocoa
diawa and the Charis Cluster Group from The beans are coated in a wet mucilage Awards that will be celebrated at the Salon
Poro. and this assists a fermentation process du Chocolat in Paris from 30 October to 3
Three cocoa farmers from Fiji and seven that develops the cocoa flavour – the beans November 2019,” it added.
from PNG were finalists in local competi- are placed in a bin for 5-7 days and turned The CoEx Programme is jointly orga-
tions held to select the best fermented a couple of times to allow fermentation to nized by Biodiversity International and
cocoa beans to send to the pre-ICA Awards occur,” said Oakeshott. Salon du Chocolat organiser Event Inter-
event organised by the Cocoa of Excellence “If the ferment is too long or short then national, in partnership with a number
(CoEx) 2019 Edition Awards late last the off-flavours can develop. The CoEx is of international chocolate makers and
month (July). a competition that selects the best beans researchers.
In Fiji, where cocoa production is un- on taste and identifies those growers who The programme is the entry point for
dergoing a renaissance of sorts, the local have ‘nailed’ the ferment process.” cocoa-producers to participate in the ICA,
competition was organised by the Sec- SPC-LRD is undertaking cocoa field- a global biennial competition recognising
retariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), work in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu the work of cocoa farmers and celebrating
through its partnership with the Govern- and Samoa, where its staff are currently the quality, flavour and diversity of cocoas
ment of Australia’s Center for International “mapping the genetic diversity of cacao, according to their origin.
Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Fiji’s conserving the best quality, auditing
Ministry of Agriculture. fermentation practices, doing fertiliser r dtabureguci@gmail.com

22 Islands Business, August 2019