Jamaica

Jamaica produces smallholder Trinitario-type cacao across several parishes, with Clarendon historically the largest producing parish and significant cultivation also in St. Mary, Portland and St. Catherine. Cacao has been grown on the island since the colonial era, though it has long been a secondary crop relative to coffee, sugar and bananas.

The island's cacao populations are mixed. From the 1940s Jamaica imported selected Trinitario hybrids and Amazonian Forastero clones from research stations in Trinidad, St. Vincent and elsewhere, so cultivated material is best described as admixed in the framing of Motamayor et al. (2008). A distinctive feature of the Jamaican model is centralised processing: wet beans are bought from farmers and fermented and dried under controlled conditions at a small number of fermentaries, supporting consistency. Beans typically show nutty, mild-fruit and spice notes.

Cocoa marketing and central fermentation were long overseen by the state Cocoa Industry Board, whose functions later passed to the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority. The sector has faced disease pressure and ageing trees, and recent years have seen replanting and rehabilitation efforts aimed at returning the industry to growth.