Davao Cacao Producers Gun for Best Cacao Recognition in Paris

Producers of cacao beans in Davao will compete for the first time to have the best and finest cacao beans in the world in Paris, France this year.

Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao, Inc. (CIDAMi) executive director Valenten Turtur announced this during Wednesday’s forum at Habi at Kape in Abreeza Ayala Mall.

The awarding for such recognition will be held during the Salon du Chocolat at the Porte de Versailles in Paris, France from October 28 to November 1, 2017.

Turtur said the competition would also open opportunity for Davao cacao producers to expand their markets especially if they clinch the title as having the Best Cacao Beans in the World it will open up to more markets around the globe.

As one of the competitors, Turtur said they will be sending cacao beans to Paris where it will be graded and ranked from among 50 contenders throughout the world based on the quality of the beans.

They are now in the process of collecting fermented beans in five areas of the region for calibration and testing, he said.

The fermented beans collected from the Puentespina Farm, Kennemer Foods, Tsokolate de San Isidro, the farm in Compostela Valley Province and in Davao del Sur of five kilos per area are handled by the Philippine Industry Council.

The cacao beans will be subjected to laboratory testing and the selected beans will be submitted to the search committee in Paris, France as entry to the competition.

Turtur said winning this prestigious award makes Davao beans popular internationally and entitles them to become a preferred product of chocolate makers in the world.

Also, he said they are working hard on producing quality seeds although the country is still lacking in the volume of production. In 2016, only 12,000 metric tons were produced in Davao Region as against its 11,000 metric tons produced in 2015. Total country’s production was at 36,000 metric tons.

“The world demand is huge at one billion metric tons,” he said.

Turtur admitted that their production was low but their target in 2022 could level up to 100,000 metric tons. This would need expanding cacao farms, he said.

He said more areas need to be planted even as he said that the government’s program on seedling distribution must be accompanied with techno briefing on how to propagate cacao.

“The distribution of seedlings must at all times be accompanied with inputs on the proper way of propagating the cacao to ensure that on the second year, it will already start bearing fruits,” he said.

Turtur said Davao cacao beans are slowly being recognized by chocolate makers in the US, Europe and in Asia. (PNA)LAP/LCM/DIGNA D. BANZON/LDP