Cocoa, finally a boon for the farmer

FIRST brought in by German settlers in around 1900, the chocolate tree has been with thousands of Papua New Guinean households through the highs and lows of life.
Back in 2006, an obstinate virus threatened to wipe out cocoa production in the country.
Cocoa pod borer (CPB), scientifically known as Conopomorpha cramerella Snellen, attacked the young pods of the cocoa plant damaging the fruit pulp and cementing the beans.
Cash incomes and livelihoods of millions throughout country were hit hard and/or altered somewhat.
In a short period, production fell drastically. Cocoa farming households had to make hard decisions on whether to hold out and wait for government help in mitigating of the pest.
Intervention from government and industry came in varying ways such as through the introduction of CPB-tolerant hybrids and clones of cocoa. Some farmers abandoned cocoa farming, choosing alternative crops such as balsa, mainly in parts of East New Britain’s Gazelle Peninsular.
In Madang, when the pest was first sighted near the border with East Sepik, the local Department of Agriculture and Livestock branch destroyed cocoa trees there. Families their source of income.
DAL gave and undertaking that it would compensate them, it did not. The farmers sough court intervention and, eventually, the State paid the farmers.
The PNG Cocoa Board and a number of major producers have since embarked on a programme of rehabilitating the cocoa industry with remarkable success. Cocoa has now reached non-traditional cocoa-growing areas such as in Chimbu’s Karamui-Nomane area and parts of Morobe.
Now cocoa farmers can forget the ravage of CBP and bask in the boon that the rising price of cocoa in the world. West Africa’s loss in production through harsh weather conditions has been responsible for the historic rise in cocoa prices.
As reported, the highest price paid for a 63.5kg bag is about K1,700. For cocoa prices to jump from around K250 to more than quadruple that in a matter of months is a huge boon indeed.
Cocoa prices have climbed to these record over the past six months, more than doubling since August 2023. This price spike has largely been driven by weather-related diseases that have reduced cocoa production in key West African countries accounting for almost three quarters of world supplies.
Cocoa processors are now seeking alternative sources in Asia and Central and South America to fulfill contracts, contributing to a parallel rise in future prices.
Producers and consumers are both feeling the impacts.
While many West African smallholder farmers have seen production losses and farmers elsewhere enjoy higher prices, consumers in wealthier countries have seen retail prices of chocolates and other associated products rise.
The ages-old law of supply and demand at play again.
Papua New Guinea farmers are and should be in a happy mood though, in a volatile of world of supply and demand, quality versus quantity, anything can go wrong.
While there is good money to be made in a rush, maintaining cocoa quality is of paramount importance. Correct harvesting, fermenting and drying processes need to be followed without fail.
The wise counsel of a farmer in East Sepik, for instance, makes much sense. To maintain the quality of the product will benefit all cocoa growers in the country. Anytime, PNG cocoa is deemed to be of inferior quality, the whole industry and individual farmers and their families suffer.
There is no shortcut to achieving quality in a product such as cocoa. It has to go through the process of harvesting, fermenting and proper drying before it is packed and sold.
Papua New Guinea is but a small producer and could easily lose its market share if quality is compromised.
One source has Papua New Guinea as the 10th largest producer of cocoa, but the production figures vary widely between the top producers such as the Ivory Coast and Ghana in the thousands of metric tonnes.
Only a small quantity of choice beans from Bougainville and other parts of the country, which have been processed into chocolates cocoa, remains an important export commodity.