the world of organic agriculture - Organic Eprints

7 Crop Information and Statistics
market. Between 2002 and 2005 there has been an estimated growth of sales rates of 16 to 20
percent. Exporters of organic cocoa from producing countries that wish to supply the European
market should pay maximum attention to offer good quality, good customer services and market
oriented prices in order to reach possible customers. For example, the Dominican Republic is one
of the leaders on the production of organic cocoa worldwide. It has more than 31’000 hectares
and has a production of about 14’350 tons yearly. The Dominican Republic, however, exports
only about 60 percent of its total organic cocoa production (8’500 tons). The reason for this
is the low quality of the cocoa offered, due to not suitable drying and fermentation facilities.
The trend in the European market is a demand for both organic and fair-trade products; this
is also an important issue for cocoa products. Furthermore, the industry is looking to develop
cocoa products with which they can associate a story; for example, the production of organic
chocolate with organic wild cocoa plants. On the other side, the prices of organic cocoa vary
strongly, depending on the demand and supply situation. In 2005, an indicative price for organic
cocoa was of approximately of 2’250 USD 8 /ton CIF Rotterdam 9 on the EU market.
According to this survey, there are about 73‘000 hectares of organic cocoa. As mentioned before
Dominican Republic is one of biggest producers with 31’073 hectares. At second place appears
Mexico with 17’314 hectares with a volume of almost 9’500 tons. The increase of organic cocoa
production in Mexico is due to several projects that started in 2001/02. For example, the small
farmers’ initiatives called Integradora Organicos de Chontalpa have actually 2’336 hectares
certified and 636 hectares in conversion. In their agro forestry systems, Organicos de Chontalpa
are producing cacao with different varieties like the Guayaquil, Ceilan and Criollo. Its processing
capacity is 2’400 tons annually, both for the national and for the export market. Ecuador reaches
the third place in organic cocoa certified area (7’574 hectares), but no data was available on the
production volume. Generally, it seems that during the last three years great efforts were made
in different countries in order to increase the organic area with cacao production. Newcomers,
such as Cuba (1’369 hectares), Venezuela, Colombia, etc. have started with the conversion of new
cocoa areas. In this survey, it was not possible to obtain up-to-date data of important countries
as Bolivia, Tanzania and Madagascar.
This increase of land under organic cocoa production and the volume produced means that both
the European and US market can be supplied. However, the US market is supplied with organic
chocolate from European manufacturers because in this country there are no certified processors
yet. This means that the suppliers from producing countries have to promote sales in Europe.
On the negative side there is currently the danger of Moniliasis, a disease that attacks young
pods, spreading in Latin America. This new situation needs fast and practical solutions for the
farmers, before all the efforts to produce organic are shattered.
8 2’250 USD = 1’851.5 EUR (per 31.12.2005)
9 CIF (=Cost, Insurance and Freight) is an International Commercial Term (INCOTERM). In the export quotation the
port of destination (discharge) is indicated after the acronym CIF. The cargo insurance and delivery of goods to the named
port of destination (discharge) is at the seller‘s expense. The buyer is responsible for the import customs clearance and
other costs and risks.
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