Haiti

Haiti is a long-standing but historically low-profile Caribbean cacao origin, where the crop is grown by smallholders in diversified agroforestry plots. Production is concentrated in two main zones: the Grand'Anse Department on the southern peninsula, and the Nord Department in the hills behind Cap-Haïtien around Acul-du-Nord.

Haitian cacao is predominantly Trinitario-type, with mixed island populations best described as admixed under the Motamayor et al. (2008) framing; the material is not finely characterised genetically. The defining historical feature of the sector is processing: for most of its history Haitian cacao was sold dried without controlled fermentation, limiting its value and reputation. Since the late 2000s this has begun to change. In the north, the cooperative federation FECCANO introduced centralised fermentation from around 2009 with technical support from AVSF, becoming the first Haitian organisation to export fermented, organically certified fine cacao; in the south, exporters introduced centralised fermentation for fine grades from around 2014.

The sector remains small and is periodically affected by economic instability and natural disasters, but its shaded, organic-leaning smallholder farms and improving fermentation give it a growing place in the fine-flavour market.