Page 16 - IB June 2017

Trade

New flavour offer for choco industry as Vanuatu cashes in

Pods

of

gold

Cocoa is proving to be a big earner for Vanuatu. Inset: Makai Daniel from the Metenesel Estate on Malekula Island inspects dried cocoa beans. Photos: Samantha Rina/ PHAMA
buyers and local farmers, producers and farmer, I am interested in cocoa as a crop.
exporters as well as government stake- I have four children and with the eldest in
holders in Vanuatu’s cocoa industry. high school, this is my family’s livelihood
The trade delegation comprised choco- and our source of income.”
late makers Greg D’Alesandre of Dan- Lui said he was keen to have more
delion Chocolate in the United States of visitors to his farm and is determined
by Samantha Rina America, Karl Hogarth of Hogarth Choco- to produce better quality cocoa. He has
ON Malo Island in Vanuatu, Moli Lui lates in New Zealand, Peter Channells and already planted 150 new trees in addition
observed in silence as the formalities of Li Peng Monroe of Jasper and Myrtle in to the 295 trees on his farm and he has
greetings and introductions took place to Australia and cocoa buyer Mathieu Bours now become a focal point of training and
welcome a trade delegation of interna- from Le Cercle du Cacao in Belgium. awareness for other emerging farmers in
tional cocoa buyers. For Lui, it was the first time a trade dele- his village.
When the theologian was finally in- gation had visited him to see the condition The visit to Lui’s farm has been one
vited to address the visitors, there was of his cocoa farm and gather finer details of several highlights of the trade visit.
no mistaking the enthusiasm with which of the harvesting and post-harvesting Throughout the week, the trade team
he spoke about his newfound interest in processes including the fermenting and visited representatives from several key
cocoa farming. drying of cocoa beans. cocoa industry stakeholders including the
In the minutes that followed, Lui had Interestingly, while Lui has had his Department of Agriculture, Food Technol-
impressed the buyers enough who, after cocoa farm for at least 20 years, it was ogy Lab, South Seas Shipping, ADRA,
sampling some of his dried cocoa beans, only six months ago that he developed ACTIV and Metenesel Estate which houses
asked to purchase the sack of beans and a serious interest in it and has been able the largest cocoa farm on Malekula Island.
have its contents divided among them. to produce a record of 328 kilograms of PHAMA’s National Co-ordinator in Van-
The trip to the island was part of a cocoa beans which he sold to Vanuatu uatu, Rebecca Bogiri, said the program’s
trade visit organised by the Pacific Horti- Copra and Cocoa Exporters Limited. work in the cocoa industry in Vanuatu
cultural and Agricultural Market Access “In March last year the VARTC (Vanu- was unique in its approach to address
(*PHAMA) Program which is funded by atu Agricultural Research and Technical quality issues.
the Australian and New Zealand govern- Centre) organised a training in partnership “In a span of two years, the PHAMA
ments. The visit aimed to establish trade with World Vision International and that program has trialled solar driers to
relations between international cocoa training changed my life. As an emerging improve capacity to produce sun-dried

16 Islands Business, May 2017