Rewards of increasing cocoa prices

WE, Sepiks, are good at our wood carvings.
These carving are worth seeing and enjoying, and also derive other benefits. But when we see, enjoy and benefit, do we actually see and appreciate the talent and extremely hard and painstaking work that has gone into it? I would safely say that very few of us do.
So here I present to you the “wood” of cocoa production and sale.
Lest we jump up and down with glee with only the high price of cocoa as is the case in the current windows of opportunity for cocoa works and gains.
To grow, ferment and sell cocoa needs work and expenses.
I present to you only the buying of wet beans, fermenting it and then sell.
While the cocoa price is good, the work is hard, just like the woodcarvers’ hard work for us to enjoy the carving.
My research and calculations show that 1kg of wet cocoa beans produces between 280g and 320g of dry cocoa beans when fermented. This means we have to buy between 3.12kg and 3.57kg of wet cocoa beans to make 1kg of dry beans.
Now, an average price of K6 buys a kilogram of wet beans.
So in order to realise 1kg of dried beans, we need to buy between 3.12kg and 3.57kg of wet beans by spending between K18.75 and K21.49.
Now we have to fill a bag with 64kg of dried or fermented beans.
In order to sell a 64kg bag at the current price of between K1,500 and K1,700 per bag means that we have to buy between 202.80kg and 232.05kg of wet beans.
This will cost us between K1,216.80 and K1,392.30.
So when we sell our 65kg bag of dried cocoa beans for a price ranging between K1,500/bag and K1700/bag, our profit margin is as follows:

•  For K1,500 sales of a 65kg bag of cocoa we would make a profit of between K107.70 and K283.20; and,
• For K1,700.00 sale of a 65kg bag of cocoa we would make a profit of between K307.70 and K483.20.

So, the real income is not K1,500 or K1,700; its K107.70 to K283.20 and K307.70 to K483.20.
What are you going to do with this real income?
So, what is the takeaway from my carving/cocoa story?
There are many takeaways but I present the one that concerns me the most.
Results come only because of hard work that is often hidden. Money is a result – we have to do some work before we are paid money.
My fear, from what I am observing in our great resource-rich country, is that far too many of us are glued to results.
When all we want is results, then someone else has to do all the hard work before we get the results we crave without we ourselves doing anything much! But then, who would do all the hard work?
As I stated, money is a result. At the same time money, as a result, is a renewable resource and as such means that if we invest money, it will make more money and will renew itself.
The issue for me here in PNG is that when we make money, we do not leave some for it to renew itself.
With today’s high price of cocoa, the majority wants this big money from cocoa but extremely few want to get this money and do something else with it.
So the posts, songs and dance about today’s high price of cocoa in my beloved Maprik is extremely high-priced focused.
When it/high cocoa price falls, Maprik will fall too, proving our status as price takers.

Roland Katak
Newtown, Maprik