{ "dataset": "kakao.io — Open Cacao Index (country overviews)", "count": 47, "updated_at": "2026-05-22", "countries": [ { "code": "au", "country": "Australia", "tagline": "A young origin near cacao's southern climatic limit", "overview": "Australia is a very small and recent cacao origin, sitting near the southern climatic limit for commercial cultivation of the crop. The first commercial plantings were established in tropical Far North Queensland from around 1999, near Mossman and Port Douglas, with the first pods harvested at Mossman in 2002.\n\nProduction is confined to Far North Queensland, in the Mossman, Daintree and Mission Beach areas, on coastal lowlands. Plantings are introduced hybrid material, an admixture under the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008), rather than any native population.\n\nThe sector is small in volume but has attracted attention as a fully domestic origin: locally grown Australian chocolate was marketed from 2011, and a Mission Beach grower won a 2017 International Cocoa Award. Beans are described as fruity, nutty, caramel and mild. Australian cacao remains a niche origin tied to a developing craft chocolate and agritourism interest.", "sources": [ "Daintree Estates — Our Story (daintreeestates.com/our-story)", "ConfectioneryNews, 'Australian Cocoa: Daintree Estates and Cadbury growing' (2013)", "Cocoa of Excellence Programme 2017 — International Cocoa Awards", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "bz", "country": "Belize", "tagline": "Smallholder Maya cacao and relic Criollo landraces", "overview": "Belize is a small cacao producer whose output is dominated by smallholder agroforestry farms in the south of the country. Cacao has a long history here, tied to the Maya, and the modern sector is built largely on Q'eqchi' and Mopan Maya farming communities.\n\nThe Toledo District is the principal cacao region, where wet beans are aggregated from many smallholder farms and fermented centrally for consistency. Stann Creek District is a secondary zone; it was the focus of a 1980s commercial cacao programme along the Hummingbird Highway that collapsed when world prices fell, leaving a legacy of older plantings alongside newer smallholder farms.\n\nWhat makes Belize genetically notable is the Maya Mountains, which hold relic Criollo landraces. A study of 77 accessions characterised with 30 microsatellite markers documented this 'Belize Criollo' material, locally blended and known as 'Acriollado', though most cultivated populations are admixed Trinitario-type stock. These relic landraces are of interest for conservation and genetic study. Belize cacao is mostly organically certified and channelled to craft and fine-chocolate buyers, supporting an origin reputation built on bright, fruit-forward, balanced beans.", "sources": [ "Loor Solorzano et al. 2012, 'The relic Criollo cacao in Belize — genetic diversity and relationship with Trinitario and other cacao clones held in the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad' — https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231929115_The_relic_Criollo_cacao_in_Belize_-_Genetic_diversity_and_relationship_with_Trinitario_and_other_cacao_clones_held_in_the_International_Cocoa_Genebank_Trinidad", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "Make Mine Fine — 'Belize' cocoa profile — https://www.makeminefine.com/cocoa-sustainability/belize/", "Uncommon Cacao — 'Maya Mountain Cacao' — https://www.uncommoncacao.com/pages/maya-mountain-cacao" ] }, { "code": "bo", "country": "Bolivia", "tagline": "Organic cooperative cacao and rare wild Amazonian stands", "overview": "Bolivia is a small cacao producer but a distinctive one, known both for organised organic cultivation and for genuinely wild-harvested Amazonian cacao. National output is modest, yet a large share is certified organic and the country has a long cooperative tradition.\n\nCultivated production centres on Alto Beni, in the Amazon foothills of La Paz Department, where smallholders and cooperatives grow cacao in agroforestry plots. This is the home of El Ceibo, a federation of cooperatives founded in 1977 that was among the first certified-organic cocoa cooperatives in the world and processes through to finished products. Native criollo and nativo types were partly displaced by higher-yielding hybrids introduced from the 1960s.\n\nThe Beni Department lowlands hold naturally occurring stands of wild and semi-wild cacao — known locally as Beniano or cacao silvestre — harvested by communities from seasonally flooded forest islands called 'chocolatales', notably around Baures near the Iténez reserve. Genetic studies associate this Beniano material with a distinct cacao population of the Beni River that is not represented in international genebanks and is not one of the named Motamayor et al. (2008) clusters, making it of particular interest as a genetic resource.", "sources": [ "Confectionery News, 'FAO supports El Ceibo cocoa cooperative in Bolivia' (2018), https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2018/04/05/FAO-supports-El-Ceibo-cocoa-cooperative-in-Bolivia/", "WCS Bolivia — Native cacao programme, https://bolivia.wcs.org/en-us/Global-Initiatives/Natural-resource-management/Native-cacao.aspx", "FiBL, 'Advancing organic cacao cultivation in agroforestry: successful training in Bolivia'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "br", "country": "Brazil", "tagline": "Bahia's historic cacao belt and a growing Amazon frontier", "overview": "Brazil is a major cacao producer and also one of the largest consumers and grinders of cocoa, so much of its crop is absorbed domestically. The country's cacao history is dominated by southern Bahia, where the Ilhéus-Itabuna belt was developed under the native Atlantic Forest shade of the 'cabruca' agroforestry system. Bahian production was devastated by witches' broom disease from the late 1980s; recovery has relied on disease-tolerant clones and a growing fine-flavour bean-to-bar sector.\n\nProduction is increasingly diversified. Espírito Santo, especially Linhares in the lower Rio Doce valley, has high yields from irrigated full-sun plantings, while the Amazon states — Pará (with Medicilândia on the Transamazon Highway often cited as the largest single producing municipality, and Tomé-Açu's diversified SAFTA agroforestry) and the faster-growing Rondônia — account for a rising share of output.\n\nGenetically, long-established Bahian populations are overwhelmingly Amelonado-derived; studies of two-century-old plantations report local varieties such as Comum and Parazinho as near-pure Amelonado within the Forastero group of the modern taxonomy (Motamayor et al. 2008). The wider Amazon basin, including Brazilian territory, is the centre of the species' natural genetic diversity. Several origins, including Linhares and Tomé-Açu, hold Brazilian geographical indications.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "Almeida et al. 2015, 'Genetic History of Cacao Plantations in Bahia, Brazil', PLOS ONE, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0145276", "USDA FAS, 'Brazil's Role in the Global Cocoa Landscape', GAIN report BR2025-0028", "Agência Pará, 'Pará has the highest cocoa productivity in the world', https://agenciapara.com.br/news/67827/" ] }, { "code": "cm", "country": "Cameroon", "tagline": "Central Africa's reddish-bean producer, often fire-dried", "overview": "Cameroon is a major Central African cacao producer, generally ranked around fifth in the world, with national output that recently surpassed 300,000 tonnes a year. Cacao has been a leading cash crop since the colonial period and remains one of the country's principal agricultural exports, grown by several hundred thousand smallholders.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the Centre, South, Littoral and South-West regions, across a range of forest and foothill elevations. Cameroonian populations include Amelonado-derived material together with a substantial Trinitario-type hybrid component; the latter gives many Cameroonian beans their characteristically reddish-brown colour, an effect also influenced by post-harvest handling.\n\nDistinctively, a large share of the crop is artificially dried over wood fires, which can impart a smoky character to the beans; sun-drying is also practised, particularly in the South-West. The typical profile is a strong, earthy cocoa with low acidity, sometimes carrying that smoky note. Most output is exported as bulk, though quality-improvement and certification efforts, supported by national research and variety trials, aim to raise the share of fine and traceable lots.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "ICCO Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics — production data", "Efombagn et al. — genetic diversity of Cameroon cocoa germplasm", "Intelpoint — 'Global cocoa production leaders': https://intelpoint.co/blogs/top-cocoa-producing-countries-trends/" ] }, { "code": "co", "country": "Colombia", "tagline": "Andean and Caribbean smallholder cacao, much of it post-conflict", "overview": "Colombia is a mid-sized cacao producer whose crop is grown almost entirely by smallholders and cooperatives, frequently within crop-substitution, peacebuilding and agroforestry programmes in former conflict areas. The country is recognised as a producer of fine-flavour cacao and the sector has expanded steadily, supported by national research and breeding institutions.\n\nProduction spans several distinct landscapes. Santander, in the eastern Andes around San Vicente de Chucurí, is the leading department, supplying roughly two-fifths of national output. Other major zones include Arauca on the Orinoquía floodplain, Huila and Tolima in the Magdalena valley, Antioquia's Bajo Cauca and Urabá, the humid Pacific-coast district of Tumaco in Nariño, and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where Arhuaco and other Indigenous communities farm the slopes.\n\nGenetically, Colombian cacao is predominantly admixed, with widely planted clones such as CCN-51, ICS-60 and ICS-95 alongside national FEDECACAO selections. Pockets of Criollo-leaning and native material survive — notably a Porcelana-type cacao of the Sierra Nevada recognised as a Slow Food Presidium — and producer associations work with universities to identify and conserve regional genetics in clonal gardens.", "sources": [ "USDA FAS, 'The Colombian Cacao Sector — 2024 Update', report CO2024-0011", "Procolombia, 'El cacao en Colombia está presente en sus departamentos', https://procolombia.co/colombiatrade/exportador/articulos/el-cacao-en-colombia-esta-presente-en-sus-departamentos", "'Cacao breeding in Colombia, past, present and future', PMC, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6776146/", "Slow Food Foundation, 'Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Porcelana Cacao' Presidium" ] }, { "code": "cr", "country": "Costa Rica", "tagline": "Indigenous-rooted smallholder cacao and agroforestry research", "overview": "Costa Rica is a small cacao producer with a cultivation history reaching into pre-Columbian times. The modern sector is built on smallholder agroforestry farms, and the country is also a centre of cacao research through CATIE, the regional agricultural research and education centre, whose breeding programmes have developed clones used across the region.\n\nProduction concentrates in two main areas. The Talamanca region of the Caribbean Limón province is a smallholder landscape with a strong Indigenous farming tradition, where Bribri and Cabécar communities have grown cacao since pre-Columbian times; producers are organised largely through APPTA, founded in 1987, with many growers being Indigenous women. The northern lowlands around Upala, near the Nicaraguan border, form a second recognised cacao district where smallholders work small plots.\n\nCultivated Costa Rican cacao is predominantly admixed, classed traditionally as Trinitario, and includes CATIE-developed clones alongside older mixed material. The crop was hit hard by the spread of frosty pod rot (moniliasis) through Central America, which sharply reduced output, but organic and agroforestry-focused smallholder production, often farmed under heavy shade against high rainfall, sustains the origin and a domestic craft-chocolate scene.", "sources": [ "Tico Times — 'Cultivating Tradition: Organic Cacao in Costa Rica' — https://ticotimes.net/2004/05/21/organic-cacao-sweet-success", "CATIE — 'Universidades públicas y personas productoras de la zona norte' — https://www.catie.ac.cr/en/2022/10/17/universidades-publicas-y-personas-productoras-de-la-zona-norte-de-costa-rica-se-reunieron-en-el-catie-para-aprender-de-cacao/", "La Casa del Cacao — 'The History of Cocoa in Costa Rica' — https://casadelcacao.net/the-history-of-cocoa-in-costa-rica/" ] }, { "code": "ci", "country": "Côte d'Ivoire", "tagline": "The world's largest cacao origin, high-volume bulk beans", "overview": "Côte d'Ivoire is the world's largest cacao producer and exporter, supplying roughly 40 percent of global output — about 2.0-2.2 million tonnes in recent years. Commercial cultivation expanded through the twentieth century as a cocoa pioneer front moved westward across the southern forest; after independence in 1960 the opening of forest land and active state encouragement drove rapid growth, and the country overtook Ghana as the leading producer in 1978.\n\nProduction is spread across the southern forest belt, with major zones around San-Pédro, Daloa, Soubré and Abengourou, farmed by a very large number of smallholders. The crop descends largely from a narrow Amelonado (West African Forastero) founder stock, increasingly interplanted with higher-yielding Upper-Amazon hybrid varieties; cotyledons are typically dark purple.\n\nIvorian cacao is the archetypal bulk bean — valued for volume and dependable, plain cocoa character with low acidity rather than aromatic distinctiveness — and the bulk of it is exported unprocessed. The sector faces sustained scrutiny over deforestation, with large areas of forest converted to cacao, and over farm incomes, child labour and ageing tree stocks; traceability and reform programmes are ongoing.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "Wikipedia — 'Cocoa production in Ivory Coast': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_production_in_Ivory_Coast", "ICCO Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics — production data", "SEI / Trase — 'Côte d'Ivoire cocoa exports and deforestation': https://trase.earth/insights/cote-d-ivoire-cocoa-exports-and-deforestation" ] }, { "code": "cu", "country": "Cuba", "tagline": "Eastern smallholder cacao centred on Baracoa", "overview": "Cuba is a modest cacao producer whose industry is overwhelmingly concentrated in the east of the island. The large majority of national output comes from the Baracoa area of Guantánamo Province, which is also Cuba's main cacao-processing centre. Cacao is grown by smallholders on small plots, typically interplanted with banana, coconut and other crops in mixed agroforestry.\n\nThe region's cacao is genetically mixed. A ddRADseq study of in-farm and genebank cacao in the Baracoa region documented diverse, admixed material rather than a single uniform type, consistent with the admixture category of the modern genetic-cluster taxonomy of Motamayor et al. (2008). Processing combines box fermentation, commonly around seven days, with the older practice of heaping beans under banana leaves; drying is by sun, often over a week or more. The resulting beans show a cocoa-forward profile with nutty, earthy and mild-fruit notes.\n\nCuban cacao has historically moved largely through the state system, and the sector has at times been affected by hurricanes and limited inputs. Baracoa retains a strong local identity as the centre of Cuban cocoa and chocolate.", "sources": [ "Pico-Mendoza et al. 2024, 'Using ddRADseq to assess the genetic diversity of in-farm and gene bank cacao resources in the Baracoa region, eastern Cuba' — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10948478/", "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "Havana Times, 'Baracoa: The Mecca of Cocoa in Cuba' — https://havanatimes.org/features/baracoa-the-mecca-of-cocoa-in-cuba-part-ii/" ] }, { "code": "cd", "country": "Democratic Republic of the Congo", "tagline": "Emerging organic origin of the eastern highlands", "overview": "The Democratic Republic of the Congo is an emerging cacao origin whose specialty production has grown rapidly since the mid-2000s. Cacao has a long history in the country dating to the colonial era, but the modern fine-cocoa sector is recent, with North Kivu recording its first significant cocoa export around 2005 and output since rising sharply.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the east, principally North Kivu — centred on Beni territory in the fertile forest lands near the Virunga area — and the neighbouring Ituri province. A lesser-known lowland zone exists in the central Congo Basin around Kisangani. Farming is overwhelmingly smallholder.\n\nCongolese cacao is admixed hybrid material, and the eastern crop is widely valued for a bright, fruit-forward, citric character with lively acidity. Much of it is grown without synthetic inputs and is certified organic, often handled through exporter-organised central fermentation. The sector's main constraint is regional insecurity: armed conflict in eastern DRC has periodically disrupted access, processing and certification, and inspectors' inability to work safely in conflict-affected areas has put the recognition of certified labels at risk.", "sources": [ "Wikipedia — 'Cocoa production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_production_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo", "Confectionery News — 'Cocoa in the Congo: Emerging origin for organic chocolate makers' (2017): https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2017/07/20/Cocoa-in-the-Congo-Emerging-origin-for-organic-chocolate-makers/", "Modern Ghana / AFP — 'Armed groups covet cocoa in eastern DR Congo': https://www.modernghana.com/news/1386228/armed-groups-covet-cocoa-in-eastern-dr-congo.html" ] }, { "code": "do", "country": "Dominican Republic", "tagline": "The Caribbean's organic-cacao powerhouse, fermented and unfermented", "overview": "The Dominican Republic is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of certified-organic cocoa, and the leading cacao origin in the Caribbean by volume. Cacao has been grown on the island since the colonial period and became a major smallholder crop across the northern and eastern lowlands, supplied today by tens of thousands of small farms.\n\nProduction concentrates in the Cibao region around San Francisco de Macorís (Duarte Province), with further important zones in Hato Mayor and other eastern and northern provinces. The country is unusual in marketing two distinct grades: 'Sánchez', dried without controlled fermentation, and washed, box-fermented 'Hispaniola', the latter favoured by fine and craft chocolate makers. Genetically, germplasm surveys describe Dominican cacao as predominantly Amelonado in ancestry with a substantial Trinitario-hybrid component, consistent with the Amelonado cluster of Motamayor et al. (2008); populations are mixed and variable.\n\nMuch of the crop is channelled through producer organisations such as CONACADO, a national federation founded in the late 1980s, and Öko Caribe, which aggregate wet beans for centralised fermentation. The sector remains a global benchmark for organic and Fairtrade-certified cacao, with continuing emphasis on consistent fermentation quality.", "sources": [ "Boza et al. 2013, 'Genetic diversity, conservation, and utilization of Theobroma cacao L.: genetic resources in the Dominican Republic', Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution — https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10722-012-9860-4", "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "CONACADO — https://conacado.com.do/en/", "Make Mine Fine, 'Dominican Republic' cocoa profile — https://www.makeminefine.com/cocoa-sustainability/dominican-republic-republica-dominicana/" ] }, { "code": "ec", "country": "Ecuador", "tagline": "World's leading fine-flavour origin, from Nacional to CCN-51", "overview": "Ecuador is one of the largest cacao producers in the world and by far the dominant supplier of fine- or flavour-grade beans. Cacao has been a pillar of the national economy since the 19th-century 'pepa de oro' boom, when riverside towns such as Vinces shipped 'Arriba' cacao down to Guayaquil for export. Output has risen sharply in recent years, with the crop now a leading export earner.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the western coastal lowlands — Los Ríos, Guayas, Manabí, El Oro and Esmeraldas account for the large majority of the harvest — with a smaller but distinctive Amazonian sector in Napo, Sucumbíos and other eastern provinces, often grown by Kichwa families within traditional 'chakra' agroforestry.\n\nEcuador's signature is the native Nacional type, valued for a delicate floral 'Arriba' aroma and placed in its own genetic cluster in the modern taxonomy (Motamayor et al. 2008; Loor Solórzano et al. 2012). However, the bulk of today's crop is the high-yielding hybrid clone CCN-51, itself a documented admixture, and surveys estimate that well under 10 percent of the national crop is heirloom Nacional. Conservation of pure Nacional germplasm and quality-differentiated supply chains are ongoing priorities.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "Loor Solorzano et al. 2012, 'Insight into the wild origin, migration and domestication history of the fine flavour Nacional Theobroma cacao L. variety from Ecuador', PLoS ONE 7(11):e48438", "Boza et al. 2014, 'Genetic characterization of the cacao clone CCN 51', Tree Genetics & Genomes 10:1413-1423", "France 24, 'Better than gold: how Ecuador cashed in on surging cocoa prices' (2025), https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250624-better-than-gold-how-ecuador-cashed-in-on-surging-cocoa-prices" ] }, { "code": "fj", "country": "Fiji", "tagline": "A revived island origin centred on Vanua Levu", "overview": "Fiji is a small Pacific cocoa origin with a 19th-century history of cultivation. Cacao was introduced during the colonial era, including Trinitario material brought from Trinidad, and was grown on plantations and smallholdings before a long period of decline.\n\nThe centre of production is Vanua Levu, Fiji's second-largest island, particularly the northern Macuata area; some older Amelonado-type plantings also remain. Modern plantings are mixed introduced material, an admixture under the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008).\n\nIn recent years Fijian cacao has been revived by smallholder farms and quality-focused craft cacao operations that have invested in careful fermentation and drying. Volumes remain very small, but Fiji has re-emerged as a recognised single-origin name, with beans described as fruity, nutty and mildly acidic supplying specialist chocolate makers.", "sources": [ "Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate, 'Fiji - Vanua Levu' origin page", "Dame Cacao, 'Fijian Cacao & Chocolate Culture'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "gh", "country": "Ghana", "tagline": "The classic bulk West African Amelonado, rigorously graded", "overview": "Ghana is the world's second-largest cacao producer, supplying roughly a fifth of global output and, with neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire, anchoring the West African belt that yields most of the world's cocoa. Cultivation traces to introductions of the late nineteenth century — the smith Tetteh Quarshie is traditionally credited with establishing seedlings at Mampong-Akuapem in the 1870s — and from around 1900 until the 1970s Ghana was the world's leading producer. The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), founded in 1947, still regulates pricing, quality and export.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the forest belt of the Ashanti, Western, Western North, Eastern and Central regions, worked overwhelmingly by smallholders. The crop was historically dominated by a narrow Amelonado founder population (West African Forastero); modern replantings increasingly use Amelonado x Upper-Amazon hybrid seed selected by the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, so cultivated stock now carries a hybrid component.\n\nGhanaian beans are valued for consistency rather than aromatic complexity, giving a straightforward, low-acid cocoa character underpinned by tightly supervised buying and grading. Most output is exported as bulk, though traceable cooperative and organic lots — such as the Suhum-area producers of the Eastern Region — supply a growing craft segment. Ageing trees, disease and farmer livelihoods remain central sector concerns.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "Wikipedia — 'Cocoa production in Ghana': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_production_in_Ghana", "USDA FAS, 'Ghana — Cocoa Sector Overview 2025', GAIN report GH2025-0008", "Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) — sector documentation; Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) — hybrid seed history" ] }, { "code": "gd", "country": "Grenada", "tagline": "Small volcanic island estates with a tree-to-bar tradition", "overview": "Grenada is a small Caribbean island origin with a long estate-based cacao tradition, the crop grown in rich volcanic soils across the island's interior hills. Cacao has historically been one of Grenada's principal agricultural exports alongside nutmeg, produced on small estates and farms rather than a single dominant region.\n\nThe island's cacao is predominantly Trinitario-type, with a small Forastero component — mixed populations consistent with the admixed and Amelonado-influenced material of Motamayor et al. (2008) rather than a single uniform genetic type. Estate and cooperative box fermentation is well established, and beans are traditionally sun-dried on sliding-roof 'boucan' trays, a hallmark of Caribbean estate processing. Sensory profiles are typically fruity and spiced with a balanced cocoa base.\n\nGrenada is notable for the on-island integration of growing and chocolate-making: the Grenada Chocolate Company, a farmer-and-maker cooperative founded in 1999, helped popularise the tree-to-bar model and brought international attention to the origin. The island remains a recognised fine-flavour producer despite small overall volumes, with ongoing interest in organic certification and estate-level quality.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "Grenada Chocolate Company — https://thegrenadachocolate.com/", "Chocolate Trading Co., 'The Grenada Chocolate Company — Meet the maker' — https://www.chocolatetradingco.com/magazine/grenada-chocolate-company-meet-the-maker" ] }, { "code": "gt", "country": "Guatemala", "tagline": "Maya-farmed agroforestry cacao across humid lowlands", "overview": "Guatemala has a deep cacao heritage rooted in Maya civilisation, where cacao served as both ritual substance and currency. Today it is a small producer on the global scale, but cacao is an important smallholder crop and the country is recognised by the ICCO as a partial fine-flavour origin.\n\nProduction is spread across several departments. Alta Verapaz in the north, including the Lachuá area near its national park, is among the leading zones and is farmed largely by Q'eqchi' Maya families; the municipality of Cahabón is a notable cacao centre where producers organise through cooperative federations. Izabal, on the Caribbean lowlands around Río Dulce and Livingston, and Suchitepéquez on the Pacific piedmont round out the main producing regions. Cacao is typically grown in shaded agroforestry plots interplanted with cardamom, coffee, plantain and timber.\n\nGenetically, cultivated Guatemalan cacao is predominantly admixed, mixing Trinitario and Criollo-type material, though some farms retain Criollo-leaning trees consistent with the region's ancient cultivation history. Much of the modern sector was rebuilt through development projects from around 2005 onward, and the country has a growing export trade in organic and fine cacao alongside a domestic chocolate tradition.", "sources": [ "USDA FAS 2019 — 'Advances and Opportunities of Cacao Production in Guatemala' — https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filename=Advances+and+Opportunities+of+Cacao+Production+in+Guatemala_Guatemala_Guatemala_8-9-2019.pdf", "Make Mine Fine — 'Guatemala' cocoa profile — https://www.makeminefine.com/cocoa-sustainability/guatemala/", "Uncommon Cacao — 'Lachua' — https://www.uncommoncacao.com/pages/lachua", "ICCO — fine and flavour cocoa country list (Annex C, International Cocoa Agreement)" ] }, { "code": "gn", "country": "Guinea", "tagline": "Minor producer of the forested southeast", "overview": "Guinea is a minor West African cacao producer, with annual output of roughly twenty thousand tonnes. Cacao is a modest but locally important crop and ranks among the country's notable agricultural export earners, sustaining household cash income in the producing region.\n\nProduction is concentrated in Guinée Forestière, the forested southeast of the country around Macenta, Lola and Nzérékoré, where higher rainfall and forest soils suit the crop. Farming is overwhelmingly smallholder.\n\nGenetically, Guinean cacao is mainly Amelonado-derived (West African Forastero), with hybrid plantings interspersed. Beans are typically heap-fermented and sun-dried, with handling that varies, giving a plain, earthy, woody and low-acidity bulk cocoa character. Much of the crop is exported as bulk beans, in part through neighbouring countries, and the origin remains comparatively undocumented relative to the larger West African producers. Like other smaller producers, Guinea has scope to develop niche quality and certification, though the sector is constrained by limited infrastructure and post-harvest capacity.", "sources": [ "FAO — Guinea agricultural sector profiles", "ITC / regional trade documentation — Guinée Forestière cocoa", "Face2Face Africa — 'Africa dominates cocoa production': https://face2faceafrica.com/article/africa-dominates-cocoa-production-but-earns-less-than-5-of-global-profits-heres-why" ] }, { "code": "ht", "country": "Haiti", "tagline": "Smallholder agroforestry cacao moving toward fermented fine grades", "overview": "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.\n\nHaitian 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.\n\nThe 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.", "sources": [ "World Cocoa Foundation, 'Terroir Kreyòl: Cacao in Haiti' — https://worldcocoafoundation.org/news-and-resources/article/terroir-kreyol-cacao-in-haiti", "AVSF, 'High-quality fair-trade cocoa in North Haiti' — https://www.avsf.org/en/projets/high-quality-fair-trade-cocoa-in-haitis-nord-department/", "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311" ] }, { "code": "hn", "country": "Honduras", "tagline": "A rebuilt fine-flavour origin with Maya roots", "overview": "Honduras has a long cacao history, with cultivation tied to the Maya in the country's west and a colonial-era role as one of Central America's leading cacao exporters. After a long decline the sector has been rebuilt over recent decades through farmer cooperatives, government programmes and international partnerships, and Honduras is recognised by the ICCO as a partial fine-flavour cacao origin.\n\nProduction is concentrated in several departments. Atlántida, on the Caribbean coast near Pico Bonito National Park, is a principal zone of shaded agroforestry farms. Copán, in the west near the ancient Maya site, carries the deepest cultural heritage and mixes smallholder and cooperative production. The most remote origin is Wampusirpi, deep in the Mosquitia rainforest of Gracias a Dios department, reached largely by the Patuca River, where Miskitu and Tawahka communities grow cacao within a forest agroforestry landscape.\n\nCultivated stock across Honduras is predominantly admixed, classed traditionally as Trinitario, with the historic Maya regions retaining some Criollo-influenced material. The country is a modest producer by volume, but its mix of organic, agroforestry and Indigenous-grown cacao, much of it traceable, has given several Honduran origins recognition among craft and fine-chocolate makers.", "sources": [ "PRONAGRO/SAG Honduras — 'Cadena Cacao' — https://www.pronagro.sag.gob.hn/cadena-cacao/", "APROCACAHO — http://www.aprocacaho.com/", "International Cocoa Organization — 'ICCO Panel recognizes countries as fine and flavour cocoa exporters' — https://www.icco.org/icco-panel-recognizes-23-countries-as-fine-and-flavour-cocoa-exporters/", "Bar & Cocoa — 'Cacao Region: Wampusirpi, Honduras' — https://barandcocoa.com/collections/region-wampusirpi" ] }, { "code": "in", "country": "India", "tagline": "Smallholder shade-crop cacao under coconut and areca", "overview": "Cacao is a relatively recent and secondary crop in India, established largely from the 1960s and 1970s with material distributed through research institutions, notably ICAR's central plantation crops research network. It is grown almost entirely as a smallholder intercrop, planted under the shade of coconut and arecanut gardens, and in Andhra Pradesh increasingly beneath oil palm.\n\nFour southern states account for nearly all output: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh leads, supplying around 40 percent of national production, with the West and East Godavari delta a particular concentration; Kerala is the other major state. Planted material is introduced Trinitario-type hybrid and clonal selections, an admixture under the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008), rather than any native population.\n\nIndian cacao is mostly processed for the domestic chocolate and confectionery industry, and the typical sensory profile is mild, nutty and low in acidity. Tight global supply through the mid-2020s has renewed farmer interest in cacao as an intercrop, and a small craft chocolate sector has begun to develop alongside the larger industrial market.", "sources": [ "ICAR-CPCRI, Cocoa Guide (2018) — cpcri.gov.in", "Directorate of Cashewnut and Cocoa Development, 'Crop history — Cocoa' — dccd.gov.in", "Mongabay India, 'Indian farmers choose cocoa amid global shortage' (2024)", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "id", "country": "Indonesia", "tagline": "A major bulk producer turning selectively toward fine cocoa", "overview": "Indonesia is one of the world's largest cocoa producers, with output dominated by smallholder farms. Cultivation expanded rapidly from the 1980s, especially on Sulawesi, which remains the centre of large-volume production; Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores and other islands also contribute. Much of the crop has historically been sold lightly fermented or unfermented as bulk cocoa.\n\nGrowing regions span the archipelago: Sulawesi for bulk volume; Aceh in northern Sumatra, where production has declined under price and disease pressure; Java, with both Dutch-era estate cacao and smallholder hybrids; Bali, notably Jembrana, a reference point for fine-cocoa development; and Flores in East Nusa Tenggara. Plantings are overwhelmingly introduced hybrid and clonal material — an admixture in the framing of Motamayor et al. (2008) — including locally bred Sulawesi clones.\n\nGenetically and sensorially, Indonesian bulk cocoa is typically straightforward, earthy and low in acidity, sometimes carrying smoky notes from drying practice. Lighter-coloured 'Java' estate beans are a historic exception. Centralised fermentation and fine-cocoa programmes, including FAO-supported work in Bali, are gradually upgrading part of the crop for the single-origin market.", "sources": [ "Primo Chocolab, 'Brief History of Cacao in Indonesia'", "FAO One Country One Priority Product, 'Indonesia: Upgrading bulk cocoa into fine cocoa'", "World Bank, 'Indonesia: Plant Cocoa, Build an Industry' (2012)", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "jm", "country": "Jamaica", "tagline": "Smallholder Trinitario shaped by central fermentaries", "overview": "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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nCocoa 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.", "sources": [ "Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority, 'About Cocoa' — https://jacra.org/divisions/cocoa/about-cocoa/", "Jamaica Information Service, 'Cocoa Industry Returning to Path of Growth' — https://jis.gov.jm/cocoa-industry-returning-path-growth/", "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311" ] }, { "code": "lr", "country": "Liberia", "tagline": "Northern cocoa belt of ageing farms under rehabilitation", "overview": "Liberia is a minor West African cacao producer, with annual output of roughly twenty thousand tonnes. Cacao is a significant smallholder cash crop and export commodity, but the sector was badly affected by prolonged civil conflict from 1989 to 2003, which left many farms abandoned or untended.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the northern counties of Lofa, Nimba and Bong, where tens of thousands of smallholders work small plots, many of them ageing and in need of rehabilitation. Farm productivity is generally low.\n\nGenetically, Liberian cacao is mainly Amelonado-derived (West African Forastero); recent replanting programmes have introduced hybrid material, including through national seed-garden efforts. Beans are typically heap-fermented and sun-dried, giving a plain, earthy, woody and low-acidity bulk cocoa character, with quality variable and dependent on handling. Most of the crop is exported as bulk. The sector is the focus of replanting, farmer-training and quality-improvement programmes intended to raise yields and bean quality, alongside efforts to strengthen marketing and traceability.", "sources": [ "ACET — 'Growing cocoa in Liberia: Challenges and opportunities'", "Liberia Ministry of Agriculture — national cocoa seed garden documentation", "FAO — Liberia cocoa value-chain analysis" ] }, { "code": "mg", "country": "Madagascar", "tagline": "Vivid fruit-forward island cacao with rare Criollo heritage", "overview": "Madagascar is a small but distinctive cacao origin, supplying well under one percent of world output yet holding an outsized reputation in fine and craft chocolate. Cacao was introduced to the island by the French, with traditional varieties traced through genetic study to introductions of the early nineteenth century, and the great majority of Malagasy exports are classed as fine or flavour cocoa.\n\nProduction is overwhelmingly concentrated in the humid Sambirano Valley of the northwest, around Ambanja in the Diana Region, sheltered by the Tsaratanana massif. The crop is grown by tens of thousands of smallholders alongside long-established estates, several dating to early-twentieth-century plantings.\n\nGenetically, Sambirano populations are admixed but notably retain a genuine Criollo component — confirmed by SNP-marker studies — making Madagascar one of the few origins outside the Americas to preserve rare Criollo-derived material; estates such as those near Ambanja keep small dedicated Criollo blocks. The cacao is best known for a vivid, fruit-forward character of red fruit, berry and citrus with tangy acidity. Controlled, often tiered box fermentation and careful drying, on estates and through cooperatives, underpin the origin's consistency and renown.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "Fouet et al. 2021, 'Traditional varieties of cacao in Madagascar: their origin and dispersal revealed by SNP markers', Beverage Plant Research", "ICCO — 'Fine or Flavour Cocoa': https://www.icco.org/fine-or-flavor-cocoa/", "Confectionery News — 'Madagascar chocolate may be a rare commodity': https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2022/11/17/Madagascar-chocolate-may-be-a-rare-commodity-but-it-s-up-there-on-its-own-in-the-single-origin-league/" ] }, { "code": "my", "country": "Malaysia", "tagline": "A former cocoa power undergoing a modest fine-flavour revival", "overview": "Malaysia was once a leading cocoa producer: cultivation expanded strongly through the late 20th century, peaking in the 1980s, before contracting sharply as growers shifted land to oil palm and other crops. The country today produces only modest quantities of beans, while retaining a significant cocoa grinding and processing industry.\n\nThe historic heart of cultivation is Sabah, on the island of Borneo, and particularly the Tawau area on its east coast, which has a long-established cocoa-growing and processing tradition. Plantings are introduced hybrid and clonal material, an admixture in the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008).\n\nMalaysian beans are generally described as robust, earthy and low in acidity, and the country was historically associated with bulk-grade cocoa. A modest fine-flavour revival, supported by interest from craft chocolate makers and renewed attention to Sabah cocoa, has begun to highlight better-processed single-origin lots even as overall planted area remains far below its former peak.", "sources": [ "eTawau.com, 'Cocoa in Sabah'", "The Chocolate Professor, 'Malaysian Cacao: Comeback Kid on the Fine Chocolate Scene'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "mx", "country": "Mexico", "tagline": "The ancestral Mesoamerican homeland of cultivated cacao", "overview": "Mexico holds a foundational place in the human history of cacao. The Pacific coast of Chiapas and the Gulf lowlands carry some of the earliest archaeological evidence of cacao use in Mesoamerica, dating to roughly 1900-1750 BC, and the crop was central to Maya and Aztec ritual, cuisine and exchange. In the modern era Mexico is a modest producer by world standards, and national output is concentrated overwhelmingly in two states: Tabasco, the largest, and Chiapas, which together account for almost all production.\n\nGrowing is centred on the low-lying Chontalpa zone of Tabasco around Comalcalco, the Soconusco coast of Chiapas, and smaller foothill areas such as the Chinantla and Papaloapan lowlands of northern Oaxaca. Farms are mainly smallholdings worked under fruit-tree and forest shade.\n\nGenetically, Mexican cacao is significant as a historic home of ancient Criollo. Work by Motamayor and colleagues traced Mesoamerican Criollo to a small founder population, and surveys in Soconusco and the Chontalpa still identify trees of high Criollo ancestry, including pale-bean strains locally called 'almendra blanca'. Most cultivated stock today, however, is admixed Trinitario and Forastero-derived material. Production has declined under disease pressure and low prices, but Criollo conservation and a domestic fine-chocolate revival sustain interest in the origin.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2002, 'Cacao domestication I: the origin of the cacao cultivated by the Mayas' — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12399997/", "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "Vázquez-Ovando et al. 2014, 'Genetic identification of Theobroma cacao L. trees with high Criollo ancestry in Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico' — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25511024/", "Geo-Mexico — 'The geography of cacao production in Mexico' — https://geo-mexico.com/?p=5900", "Slow Food Foundation — Chontalpa Cacao Presidium — https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/slow-food-presidia/chontalpa-cacao/" ] }, { "code": "ni", "country": "Nicaragua", "tagline": "An ICCO-recognised 100 percent fine-flavour origin", "overview": "Nicaragua is a small but rising cacao producer, and in 2015 it was recognised by the ICCO as a 100 percent fine-flavour cacao origin. Production is almost entirely smallholder, grown within mixed agroforestry systems and frequently organised through cooperatives, with a substantial organic and traceable share.\n\nThe country's cacao zones fall into two broad belts. The Matagalpa and Jinotega highlands of the north-central interior produce cacao often interplanted with coffee and shade trees. Along the humid Caribbean lowlands, cacao expanded from the mid-1990s onward, with Waslala and Rancho Grande on the North Caribbean Coast, Nueva Guinea and El Rama on the South Caribbean Coast, and the rainforest zone of Río San Juan in the southeast forming the main producing territories.\n\nCultivated Nicaraguan cacao is genetically admixed hybrid material. A diversity study in Waslala documented a broad genotype spectrum, finding that a sizeable share of sampled trees yielded cocoa with strong individual sensory attributes spanning floral, sweet and fruity notes — work that underpins the country's fine-flavour reputation. Cooperatives and quality-mapping programmes have made Nicaragua an origin closely followed by craft chocolate makers.", "sources": [ "Trognitz et al. 2013, 'Diversity of Cacao Trees in Waslala, Nicaragua', PLOS ONE — https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0054079", "MOCCA — 'CACAONICA and the Cocoa Flavor Map' — https://mocca.org/en/cacaonica-and-the-cocoa-flavor-map/", "Make Mine Fine — 'Nicaragua' cocoa profile — https://www.makeminefine.com/cocoa-sustainability/nicaragua/", "Ingemann Fine Cocoa — 'Cocoa in Nicaragua' — https://ingemann.com.ni/cocoa-in-nicaragua-ingemann/" ] }, { "code": "ng", "country": "Nigeria", "tagline": "Long-established bulk producer of the southwestern states", "overview": "Nigeria is a long-established West African cacao producer and consistently ranks among the world's largest cocoa-growing countries, typically placed fourth or fifth globally with annual output of the order of 300,000-350,000 tonnes. Cacao has been a significant cash crop and export earner since the colonial era, and although petroleum displaced it as the leading export, cocoa remains the country's most important agricultural export commodity.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the southwestern states — Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Oyo — which together account for the large majority of the crop, with Ondo State the leading producer; Cross River in the southeast is also notable. The crop is grown almost entirely by smallholders.\n\nGenetically, Nigerian cacao is mainly Amelonado-derived (West African Forastero), with widespread planting of Upper-Amazon hybrid material; cotyledons are typically dark purple. Beans are usually heap-fermented for several days and sun-dried, giving a robust, earthy, low-acidity bulk cocoa character, and most output is exported unprocessed. The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria supports germplasm and agronomy work, while ageing farms and replanting are persistent sector challenges.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "ICCO Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics — production data", "Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) — sector documentation", "Wikipedia — 'List of countries by cocoa production': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_cocoa_production" ] }, { "code": "pa", "country": "Panama", "tagline": "Caribbean-coast cacao with deep Indigenous tradition", "overview": "Panama is a small cacao producer whose output is concentrated on the humid Caribbean coast in the west of the country. Cacao is largely a smallholder crop with a strong Indigenous farming tradition, and a significant share is organically certified for export.\n\nProduction centres on Bocas del Toro, a lowland province with a long-standing cacao history, and the adjacent Bocas del Toro section of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, an autonomous Indigenous territory. Across both areas much of the cacao is grown by Ngäbe and Naso Indigenous families in shaded agroforestry plots, where cacao carries deep cultural significance. Many growers are organised through COCABO, founded in 1952 and the oldest cooperative in Panama, which markets organic cacao.\n\nCultivated Panamanian cacao is genetically admixed, classed traditionally as Trinitario. The country is a minor producer by global volume, and the sector has at times been pressured by disease and price cycles, but its combination of organic certification, Indigenous farming heritage and Caribbean agroforestry landscapes gives Panama a recognisable place among small Central American fine-cacao origins.", "sources": [ "Equal Exchange — 'COCABO' — https://www.info.equalexchange.coop/partners/cocabo", "Tourism Panama — 'Cacao in Panama' — https://www.tourismpanama.com/places-to-visit/bocas-del-toro/things-to-do/outdoors-and-nature/cacao/", "Tourism Panama — 'Discover the Comarca of Panamá & the Ngäbe-Buglé Tribe' — https://www.tourismpanama.com/culture-cuisine/indigenous-communities/ngabe-bugle/" ] }, { "code": "pg", "country": "Papua New Guinea", "tagline": "Melanesian smallholder cocoa, often distinctively smoky", "overview": "Papua New Guinea is one of the Pacific's most significant cocoa producers, where the crop is a leading smallholder cash earner. Cacao was established under colonial administration, and the country has been an important centre of cocoa breeding, including the development of clones tolerant of the cocoa pod borer, a pest that has heavily disrupted production since arriving in the 2000s.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the islands and coastal lowlands. East New Britain is the main producing province and a historic breeding centre; Bougainville is a major smallholder region rebuilt after the 1990s conflict; and Karkar Island off Madang has a long plantation history. Plantings are introduced Trinitario-type hybrid material, an admixture in the framing of Motamayor et al. (2008).\n\nA defining trait of much PNG cocoa is a smoky character, which arises largely from traditional wood-fired drying rather than the bean itself; donor-supported programmes have promoted improved solar dryers to reduce smoke taint. Selected, carefully processed lots reach single-origin chocolate markets, while rehabilitation efforts continue to address pod borer and ageing trees.", "sources": [ "PNG National Research Institute, 'Value Chain Analysis for the PNG Cocoa Industry' (2023)", "World Bank, 'Papua New Guinea: Restoring the Stream of Cocoa to Bougainville' (2014)", "Pasifika News / Earth Journalism Network, 'Papua New Guinea: The Journey to Resilient Cocoa Clones' (2018)", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "pe", "country": "Peru", "tagline": "Amazonian genetic diversity and a leading organic-cacao exporter", "overview": "Peru is a significant cacao producer and one of the world's leading exporters of certified-organic cocoa. Much of the modern industry expanded from the 1990s, when cacao was promoted across the upper Amazon as an alternative crop to coca through alternative-development programmes; production today is organised largely through cooperatives and smallholders.\n\nThe main growing belt runs along the eastern Andean foothills and Amazon lowlands. San Martín, centred on the Huallaga valley, is the leading region, followed by zones in Junín (Satipo), Ucayali, Huánuco (Tingo María), Amazonas (Bagua) and Cusco. Distinctive native origins include Chuncho in the La Convención province of Cusco, the white-bean Piura Blanco of the dry northern coast, and the Nacional-type material rediscovered in 2007 in the Marañón River canyon.\n\nThe Peruvian Amazon lies within the centre of the species' natural diversity and is rich in native germplasm. The modern taxonomy (Motamayor et al. 2008) draws on Peruvian populations for clusters such as Contamana, documented in the Ucayali valley; SNP studies place Chuncho close to Contamana. Most cultivated material is admixed or hybrid, with native and Criollo-leaning types conserved on selected farms and in clonal collections.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "Zhang et al. 2006, 'Genetic Diversity and Structure of Managed and Semi-natural Populations of Cocoa in the Huallaga and Ucayali Valleys of Peru', Annals of Botany 98(3):647", "Céspedes-Del Pozo et al. 2018, SNP characterisation of Chuncho cacao, La Convención, Cusco", "AVPA, 'Peru, the land of origin of cocoa', https://en.avpa.fr/post/peru-the-land-of-origin-of-cocoa" ] }, { "code": "ph", "country": "Philippines", "tagline": "Mindanao-centred origin with a rising artisan sector", "overview": "Cacao has a long history in the Philippines, introduced during the Spanish colonial period and embedded in the local 'tablea' drinking-chocolate tradition. Modern commercial production is modest in global terms and concentrated overwhelmingly on the island of Mindanao, with the Davao Region the principal cacao zone and the Calinan area of Davao City a recognised hub.\n\nPlantings are introduced Trinitario-type hybrid and selected clonal material — including UF 18, BR 25 and PBC 123 — an admixture under the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008). Cacao is grown by smallholders and cooperatives, with the main harvest around October to January and a secondary mid-year crop.\n\nDavao cacao is associated with fruity, floral, caramel and nutty notes, and the region has developed an active fine-flavour and bean-to-bar scene; Philippine beans were placed among the Cocoa of Excellence Best 50 in 2017. National programmes have set targets to expand planted area and output, positioning the Philippines as a growing, quality-oriented origin in Southeast Asia.", "sources": [ "The Cocoa Post, 'Spotlight on Philippines Emerging Artisan Chocolate Industry in Davao'", "Cocoa of Excellence Programme 2017 — International Cocoa Awards", "Wikipedia, 'Chocolate industry in the Philippines'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "ws", "country": "Samoa", "tagline": "Island cocoa tied to the koko Samoa tradition", "overview": "Samoa is a small Pacific cocoa origin with a strong domestic culture around the crop. Cacao was a major Samoan export in the mid-20th century before the sector declined, and it remains closely bound to 'koko Samoa', a traditional roasted-cocoa drink prepared at household level.\n\nProduction is by smallholders on the islands of Upolu and Savai'i, with harvest spread across the year. Plantings are introduced Trinitario-type hybrid material, an admixture under the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008); older Samoan selections are noted by some buyers for desirable flavour.\n\nMuch of the crop is processed at household scale, with a share roasted directly for domestic koko Samoa use rather than exported as fermented beans. Sensory profiles are typically nutty, earthy and mild. Renewed demand for fine and single-origin chocolate, supported by regional agricultural programmes, has prompted a partial revival of Samoan cacao for the export and craft markets.", "sources": [ "ACIAR, 'Boutique chocolate demand revives Pacific cocoa industry'", "Pacific Trade Invest, 'Chocolate Industry in the Pacific set to grow'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "st", "country": "São Tomé and Príncipe", "tagline": "The historic 'Chocolate Islands' of the Gulf of Guinea", "overview": "São Tomé and Príncipe is a small island producer in the Gulf of Guinea with an outsized place in cacao history. Portuguese settlers imported cacao around 1850 from Bahia, Brazil, and by the early twentieth century the islands had briefly become the world's leading cocoa producer, earning the nickname the 'Chocolate Islands'. The crop was grown on roças — large self-contained plantation estates whose labour history is bound up with forced and contracted workers.\n\nFollowing independence and the nationalisation and later decline of the roças, output fell far below the colonial peak. Cacao nonetheless remains central to the economy, accounting for a major share of national exports.\n\nThe islands' cacao is overwhelmingly Amelonado-derived (Forastero) material descended from the nineteenth-century Brazilian introductions, with some hybrid replanting; because Príncipe was largely bypassed by later replanting, parts of it retain old-plantation stock. The typical profile is an earthy cocoa with warm spice and low acidity. Modern production is led by smallholders and cooperatives, much of it certified organic and Fairtrade, and the islands' shaded agroforestry cacao landscapes were recognised by FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "Wikipedia — 'Cocoa production in São Tomé and Príncipe': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_production_in_S%C3%A3o_Tom%C3%A9_and_Pr%C3%ADncipe", "Macao Magazine — 'Chocolate's return to São Tomé and Príncipe': https://macaomagazine.net/chocolates-return-to-sao-tome-and-principe/", "FAO — Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) designation, 2024" ] }, { "code": "sl", "country": "Sierra Leone", "tagline": "Smaller Eastern Province producer rebuilding post-conflict", "overview": "Sierra Leone is a smaller West African cacao producer, with annual output on the order of fifteen to twenty thousand tonnes. Cacao is one of the country's leading agricultural export earners and an important source of household cash income, particularly in the east, though the sector was disrupted by the 1991-2002 civil war and has been the focus of rehabilitation since.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the Eastern Province, principally Kenema and Kailahun districts, where forest soils suit the crop. Farming is overwhelmingly smallholder and largely subsistence in character, with simple tools, rain-fed plots and generally low yields from ageing tree stocks.\n\nGenetically, Sierra Leonean cacao is mainly Amelonado-derived (West African Forastero), with hybrid plantings from replanting efforts. Beans are usually heap-fermented and sun-dried, giving an earthy, woody, low-acidity bulk cocoa character; quality varies considerably with post-harvest handling. Most output is exported as bulk, though cooperative-organised centralised fermentation has been introduced for parts of the crop, aiming to lift consistency and access to better-paying markets.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "FAO — Sierra Leone agricultural sector profiles", "Face2Face Africa — 'Africa dominates cocoa production': https://face2faceafrica.com/article/africa-dominates-cocoa-production-but-earns-less-than-5-of-global-profits-heres-why" ] }, { "code": "sb", "country": "Solomon Islands", "tagline": "The country's main farm export, grown across many islands", "overview": "In the Solomon Islands cocoa is the largest agricultural export earner, produced by a broad base of smallholders estimated in the tens of thousands. Cacao was introduced during the colonial era and is now a mainstay rural cash crop, grown on small plots across several islands rather than on large estates.\n\nProduction is spread mainly across Guadalcanal, Makira and Malaita, with harvest broadly year-round. Plantings are introduced Trinitario-type hybrid material, an admixture under the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008), rather than any native population.\n\nFermentation and drying are carried out at village and group level, so quality varies considerably from island to island. As elsewhere in Melanesia, much of the crop is dried over wood fires, which can impart a smoky character; sun-drying and improved drying methods are being promoted to lift quality. Regional development programmes have worked to strengthen processing and access to export markets, and selected lots have drawn interest from craft chocolate buyers.", "sources": [ "ACIAR, 'Improved processing to boost cocoa quality in the Pacific'", "PHAMA Plus, 'Pacific Cocoa Export Industry Overview'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "lk", "country": "Sri Lanka", "tagline": "Mid-country smallholder cacao intercropped with coconut", "overview": "Sri Lanka is a small cocoa origin where the crop has a long but secondary presence, established during the colonial plantation era alongside the island's better-known tea, coconut and spice crops. Cacao is grown almost entirely by smallholders rather than on large dedicated estates.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the mid-country intermediate zone, with Matale and neighbouring Kandy in the Central Province the main growing districts. Cacao is typically planted as an intercrop, particularly with coconut, at moderate elevations. The material is introduced Trinitario-type cacao, an admixture under the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008), with cotyledon colour ranging from cream to dark purple.\n\nSri Lankan beans are described as having cocoa, nutty, warm-spice and mild-fruit notes, processed with smallholder and small-facility box fermentation and sun-drying. Volumes are modest and the sector is supported by the Department of Export Agriculture, with quality cacao of interest to a small domestic and specialist chocolate market.", "sources": [ "Sri Lanka Department of Export Agriculture, 'Cocoa' — dea.gov.lk/cocoa", "Wikipedia, 'Cocoa production in Sri Lanka'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "lc", "country": "St. Lucia", "tagline": "Volcanic-slope estate cacao with named terroir plots", "overview": "St. Lucia is a small Caribbean island origin with an estate-based cacao tradition rooted in the southwest of the island. Cacao has been grown on the island since the colonial era, historically alongside other plantation crops, and production today is limited in volume and centred on individual estates rather than a broad smallholder base.\n\nThe best-documented origin is Rabot Estate near Soufrière, one of the oldest working cacao farms on the island, set on rich volcanic slopes. The estate's cacao is Trinitario-type, with mixed island populations best described as admixed under the framing of Motamayor et al. (2008). It is worked as a single estate subdivided into named plots, locally termed 'cortès', managed as separate terroirs — an unusually granular approach for so small an origin. Pods are rested before cracking, the wet beans box-fermented, and the cacao sun-dried on estate decks, giving fruity, nutty and spiced profiles.\n\nSt. Lucia is also notable for cacao tourism: the Soufrière estates have developed tree-to-bar visitor experiences that link growing, fermentation and chocolate-making, supporting the origin's identity in the fine-flavour market.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "Hotel Chocolat, 'Cocoa Estate — Saint Lucia Rabot Estate' — https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/about/cocoa-estate.html", "Hotel Chocolat, 'Cocoa Growing — Saint Lucia Rabot Estate' — https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/about/cocoa-estate/cocoa-growing.html" ] }, { "code": "tz", "country": "Tanzania", "tagline": "Berry-forward East African beans from the south", "overview": "Tanzania is an East African cacao producer of modest scale whose beans have gained recognition among craft chocolate makers for distinctive quality. Cocoa export earnings have risen markedly as quality-focused, certified production has expanded.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the south, with the Kyela District near the northern shore of Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the wider Mbeya region accounting for the large majority of the crop; the Kilombero Valley in Morogoro Region is a second important zone. Farming is overwhelmingly smallholder, with cacao grown as hybrid material of Trinitario and Nacional-derived ancestry, including local selections.\n\nTanzanian cacao is widely valued as fine or flavour cocoa, typically showing a clean, fruit-forward profile with red-fruit and berry notes and bright acidity. A defining feature of the modern sector is centralised fermentation: stations such as the Kilombero Valley fermentary buy wet beans from thousands of smallholders and ferment them to a consistent standard, while cooperative-organised processing serves the Kyela area. Much of the crop is certified organic, and a domestic fine-chocolate industry has begun to emerge alongside exports to specialty markets.", "sources": [ "Cacao of Excellence — Tanzania Mababu Cooperative producer profile", "Cocoa Runners — 'Kokoa Kamili: Coaxing the Best from Tanzanian Cacao': https://cocoarunners.com/2016/04/kokoa-kamili-coaxing-best-tanzanian-cacao/", "How we made it in Africa — 'Tanzanian cocoa business finds sweet spot in exporting to high-end chocolate makers': https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/tanzanian-cocoa-business-finds-sweet-spot-in-exporting-to-high-end-chocolate-makers/141684/" ] }, { "code": "th", "country": "Thailand", "tagline": "Research-bred hybrids feeding a young bean-to-bar scene", "overview": "Thailand is a small and relatively young cocoa origin. The crop is not historically significant in the country, but a domestic research and breeding effort has given Thai cacao a distinctive footing, supplying a fast-growing bean-to-bar and craft chocolate sector.\n\nCultivation is spread across several regions, with Chumphon Province in the south a reference area. It is home to the Chumphon Horticultural Research Center, which developed the 'Chumphon 1' hybrid by crossing the Trinidad-derived PA 7 and NA 32 selections; this clone is now the dominant cacao type planted nationally. In the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008), such material is an admixture.\n\nThai beans are typically described as nutty, mildly fruity and balanced. Volumes are small, and cacao is grown by smallholders and small facilities with box fermentation and sun-drying. The combination of a defined, locally bred genetic base and an energetic domestic chocolate-making community has made Thailand a recognised emerging origin in Southeast Asia.", "sources": [ "Silva Cacao, 'Thailand, Land of Smiles and Genius Cacao Genetics'", "Dame Cacao, 'Thai Bean to Bar (Chocolate Culture in Thailand)'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "tg", "country": "Togo", "tagline": "Small upland Plateaux producer near the Ghanaian border", "overview": "Togo is a minor West African cacao producer, with annual output of the order of fifteen thousand tonnes — a small fraction of the volumes grown in neighbouring Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Cacao has nonetheless been a long-standing export crop and a significant source of rural cash income.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the upland Plateaux Region of the southwest, particularly the hilly Litimé and Kloto areas around Kpalimé near the Ghanaian border, where higher elevations and forest soils favour the crop. It is grown almost entirely by smallholders.\n\nTogolese cacao is mainly Amelonado-derived (West African Forastero), with hybrid plantings interspersed. Beans are typically heap-fermented for several days and sun-dried, yielding a plain, earthy, low-acidity cocoa character similar to other bulk West African origins. Most of the crop is exported as bulk beans, in some cases through neighbouring countries, but a growing organic and fine-flavour segment has emerged, supported by cooperative organisation and certification programmes. Deforestation pressure is a recognised concern in the producing region.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)", "FAO / ITC — Togo cocoa sector profiles", "Face2Face Africa — 'Africa dominates cocoa production': https://face2faceafrica.com/article/africa-dominates-cocoa-production-but-earns-less-than-5-of-global-profits-heres-why" ] }, { "code": "tt", "country": "Trinidad and Tobago", "tagline": "Birthplace of Trinitario and home of the ICS clones", "overview": "Trinidad and Tobago holds an outsized place in cacao history as the birthplace of the Trinitario type — a heterogeneous hybrid population that arose when Criollo plantings, damaged by an eighteenth-century crop failure, were interbred with introduced Amelonado Forastero. The resulting Criollo x Forastero material spread worldwide and remains central to fine-flavour cacao. Although national output is modest today, the islands' research legacy is substantial.\n\nOn Trinidad, cacao is grown on central and southern estates, the historic 'Trinitario heartland'. The island is the source of the Imperial College Selection (ICS) clones chosen by F.J. Pound in the 1930s, still widely propagated internationally. Tobago has its own estate tradition; Roxborough in the east was a noted cocoa estate before the industry declined after the 1970s, and single-estate production has since been revived there.\n\nTrinidad hosts the Cocoa Research Centre of the University of the West Indies, which curates the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad — one of the largest field genebanks of cacao in the world and a key reference collection underpinning the modern genetic-cluster taxonomy of Motamayor et al. (2008). Estate beans are traditionally well-fermented, with raisin, red-fruit and molasses notes.", "sources": [ "Bekele, F. 2019, 'Trinidad and Tobago, the Birthplace of the world-famous Trinitario cocoa' — https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332353558", "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "Cocoa Research Centre, UWI St. Augustine, 'The International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad' — https://sta.uwi.edu/cru/international-cocoa-genebank" ] }, { "code": "ug", "country": "Uganda", "tagline": "Fruit-forward East African origin from the Semuliki Valley", "overview": "Uganda is an East African cacao producer that has grown steadily in recent years, with cocoa now a notable agricultural export earner. Output is modest by global standards, but rising prices and demand for traceable, certified beans have given the origin a competitive niche.\n\nProduction is dominated by Bundibugyo District in the west, in the warm Semuliki (Semliki) Valley between the Rwenzori Mountains and the DR Congo border; the district accounts for the large majority of national output. Cacao is also grown in other parts of the country. Farming is overwhelmingly smallholder, on plots typically of one to a few acres.\n\nUgandan cacao is genetically admixed hybrid material. A substantial share is sold as fresh wet beans at village collection points and fermented centrally — often through vertically integrated buyer-processors — which has supported consistent quality and organic certification. The beans are widely associated with a bright, fruit-forward, citric profile with lively acidity, and the Semuliki area in particular has built a reputation among craft chocolate makers. Farmer incomes and value capture remain prominent concerns.", "sources": [ "Uncommon Cacao — 'Back from Bundibugyo: An origin report of Semuliki Forest': https://www.uncommoncacao.com/blogs/uncommon-cacao/back-from-bundibugyo-an-origin-report-of-semuliki-forest", "Global Press Journal — 'Cocoa Is Big Business, but Farmers Aren't Reaping Its Rewards': https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/uganda/cocoa-big-business-farmers-arent-reaping-rewards/", "Latitude Trade Co. — Bundibugyo sourcing and certification documentation" ] }, { "code": "us", "country": "United States", "tagline": "Hawaii — the only US state where cacao fruits commercially", "overview": "The United States is an unusual cacao origin: commercial cultivation is confined to Hawai'i, the only US state with a tropical climate suitable for the crop. Cacao was introduced to the islands in the 19th century but only developed as a commercial crop from the late 20th century, and total production remains very small.\n\nGrowing is concentrated on family farms, with Hawai'i Island holding the highest concentration of cacao farms and O'ahu, including the Waialua area on the North Shore, a secondary zone — some of it on former sugar and pineapple land. Plantings are introduced hybrid and selected Trinitario-type material, an admixture in the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008).\n\nHawaiian cacao is carefully processed on many estates, with farm-scale box fermentation and sun- or solar-drying, and is associated with bright fruit, caramel and nutty notes. Several Hawai'i farms have competed in the International Cocoa Awards, and the sector is closely linked to local agritourism and a domestic craft chocolate scene.", "sources": [ "IR-4 Project, 'Hawaii's Cacao Industry Unites Around Goal to Become Napa Valley of Chocolate'", "Hawaii Magazine, '5 Must-See Cacao Farms on Hawaii Island'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "vu", "country": "Vanuatu", "tagline": "Pacific smallholder cocoa with a traditional smoky signature", "overview": "Vanuatu is a small Pacific cocoa origin where the crop is grown by smallholders, frequently alongside coconut and copra production. Cacao was introduced during the colonial period and remains a useful cash crop on several islands, with Malekula in Malampa Province among the recognised growing areas.\n\nPlantings are introduced Trinitario-type hybrid material, an admixture in the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008). Harvest is spread across the year, and processing is carried out at smallholder scale.\n\nThe most distinctive feature of much Vanuatu cocoa is a pronounced smoky, sometimes tobacco-like character, which derives from traditional copra-style wood-fired drying rather than the bean's genetics; sun-drying is used for finer lots intended for quality markets. The Vanuatu Organic Cocoa Growers Association (VOCGA) supports certified organic production, and regional programmes have worked to improve fermentation and drying so that the country can supply cleaner, single-origin beans to craft chocolate makers.", "sources": [ "FAO, 'The Vanuatu Organic Cocoa Growers Association (VOCGA)'", "ACIAR, 'Improved processing to boost cocoa quality in the Pacific'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] }, { "code": "ve", "country": "Venezuela", "tagline": "Historic heartland of fine-flavour Criollo and Trinitario cacao", "overview": "Venezuela holds a central place in the history of fine cacao. Cultivated since the colonial era and exported from the 17th century under port names such as Carenero and Maracaibo, Venezuelan cacao became a byword for aromatic, low-astringency beans. Although national output is modest by world standards and has declined over recent decades, the country remains disproportionately important to the fine-flavour trade.\n\nProduction clusters in three broad zones: the southern Lake Maracaibo basin (Sur del Lago) in Zulia, Mérida, Táchira and Trujillo, historic home of Criollo types including Porcelana; the central coastal valleys of Aragua and Carabobo, where villages such as Chuao, Choroní, Cuyagua, Ocumare de la Costa and Canoabo sit within or near Henri Pittier National Park; and the Paria peninsula of Sucre, traded as Río Caribe and Carenero.\n\nVenezuela is associated with surviving Criollo germplasm — notably the pale, white-cotyledon Porcelana — and gave its name to widely grafted clone series such as Ocumare. Modern field populations are predominantly admixed Trinitario, reflecting centuries of hybridisation; the Motamayor et al. (2008) framework places much Venezuelan material in the Criollo and admixed clusters. Cacao remains a smallholder and community crop, with origins like Chuao managed collectively.", "sources": [ "Motamayor et al. 2008, 'Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)', PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311", "The Chocolate Ambassador — 'Venezuelan Fine Flavor Cacao: History, Genetics, and Legacy', https://www.thechocolateambassador.net/post/venezuelan-cacao-a-legacy-of-heritage-and-fine-flavor", "Silva Cacao — 'Venezuelan 360', https://silva-cacao.com/articles/silva-cacaos-venezuelan-360/" ] }, { "code": "vn", "country": "Vietnam", "tagline": "A fast-changing young origin of fruity southern Trinitarios", "overview": "Cacao reached Vietnam under French Indochina but remained marginal until a deliberate expansion from the early 2000s, when development programmes and trading companies promoted it as a smallholder cash crop. Planted area peaked in 2012 at roughly 25,000 hectares and then contracted sharply as farmers shifted to more profitable crops such as pepper, coffee and fruit; the sector today is small but quality-focused.\n\nProduction is concentrated in the south: the Mekong Delta provinces, notably Bến Tre and Tiền Giang, where cacao is interplanted with coconut; the southeastern provinces such as Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu; and the Central Highlands, particularly Đắk Lắk and Lâm Đồng, where it grows alongside coffee and cashew on basalt soils. Plantings are overwhelmingly introduced Trinitario-type hybrid clones, an admixture in the modern genetic-cluster framing of Motamayor et al. (2008).\n\nVietnamese beans are valued for soft caramel, honey and yellow-fruit notes and have supported a noted domestic bean-to-bar industry. Although total volume is modest, Vietnam has become a recognised single-origin name in fine chocolate, and selected lots have been cited for fine-flavour quality.", "sources": [ "WWF, 'An Overview of the Cocoa Sector in Vietnam'", "ConfectioneryNews, 'Rising dragon: Vietnam to win fine flavor cocoa status' (2016)", "Dame Cacao, 'Vietnamese Chocolate & Cacao Culture'", "Motamayor et al. 2008, PLoS ONE 3(10):e3311 (genetic clusters)" ] } ] }