Caribbean Export 2021 Annual Report FINAL

COCOA/CHOCOLATE VALUE CHAIN The global cocoa market was valued at USD 8.6 billion in 2012, with five-year projections showing a 7.3% surge in market growth to approximately USD 13.32 billion 3 . The Dominican Republic is the ninth world producer of cocoa, but the largest exporter of organic cocoa with 60% of the world market. It has 40,000 cocoa producers and exports 250 million tons per year impacting 300,000 people. Sixteen percent of cocoa production in the Dominican Republic is organic 4 , and is interlinked in a value chain with ecological tourism, agritourism and cultural tourism. With a range of guided visits to organic cocoa plantations and the overall industry size, cocoa production is a valuable industry to the Dominican economy. In Haiti, cocoa growers are also organized into cooperative associations. In the North, there is a prominent federation of 7 cocoa cooperatives, Fédération de Coopératives de Cacaoyères du Nord (FECCANO) comprising 3485 members and a new growing association of producers, Union des Producteurs de Cacao du Nord (UPCAN) comprising 233 groups of 10- 25 members totalizing 3547 producers. FECCANO export directly fermented organic cocoa mostly to Europe and is also participating in the cocoa value chain project. To increase efficiency and boost production six firms are receiving financial and technical assistance. For example, assistance to purchase equipment to process cocoa powder; participation in international trade fairs facilitated by Caribbean Export; virtual training on quality management systems and the introduction of agricultural technology (AgTech) with the purchase of GPS devices to locate and map cocoa farms in the Dominican Republic.

3 Grand View Research 2021 found that increasing usage of cocoa butter as functional ingredient in the formulation of chocolates is also expected to be one of the key factors augmenting market growth. 4 http://www.dominicanaonline.org/portal/espanol/cpo_cacao.asp

Building Business, Transforming Lives for a Resilient Caribbean | Annual Results Report - 2021 46