To stop competing with low prices, companies in Honduras focus on improving the quality of the grain they produce.
In the last few days on the New York Stock Exchange the ton of cocoa has been quoted at about $2,655, however, the better quality produced in the country allows companies like Chocolats Halba to pay local producers $4,000 per ton.
Luis Velex, manager of Chocolats Halba, a company that began operations in Honduras in 2008, told Laprensa.hn that "... Before we came here, there wasn't even a pound of fine chocolate produced here. This post-harvest process was taught, and our technicians follow up to ensure that the quality is maintained."
Producers in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, will have a processing plant, technical assistance and a global distribution network.
The funds from the Italian-Latin American International Organization (IILA) and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) are part of the project entitled "Revitalization of the quality cocoa chain in Central America and the Caribbean."
Last year exports of 17 types of fruits, vegetables and organic grains may registered a 4% increase compared to 2016.
In the last ten years, the number of agricultural producers dedicated to the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and organic grains increased from 1,500 to 6,451, according to figures from the National Secretariat for Health and Food Safety (SENASA). Also in the last decade, it is estimated that the planted area grew from 4,400 hectares to 31 thousand hectares.
On October 24th, a meeting of cocoa producers will be held in San Pedro Sula, where topics such as genetics and market opportunities will be discussed.
The forum, organized by the National Association of Cocoa Producers in Honduras, is expected to involve 400 producers and members of the National Committee of the Cocoa Chain.
At the beginning of April, cocoa futures prices continued the sustained downward trend initiated from the latter part of the previous month.
From the monthly report by the Cocoa International Organization:
Price movements
In April, the ICCO daily price averaged US$1961 per tonne, down by US$97 compared to the average price recorded in the previous month (US$2,058) and ranged between US$1,833 and US$2,123 per tonne.
Ecuador is preparing a plan to reactivate the production of fine cocoa and plans to increase sales in the international market in 2025 to $3 billion.
The recovery plan for aromatic fine cocoa will raise sales in the international market to $3 billion in 2025, above bananas and shrimp, which are Ecuador's star products.
World production projected for the end of 2015/16 cycle will decrease by 6% compared to the period 2014/15.
From a report at the end of August by the International Cocoa Organization:
London, 31 August 2016--The International Cocoa Organization today releases its revised forecasts for the current 2015/2016 cocoa year and revised estimates of world production, grindings and stocks of cocoa beans for 2014/2015, as summarized below.
Central American producers are invited to attend the Regional Cocoa Forum on August 17 and 18 in the Expocentre in San Pedro Sula.
The Cocoa Producers Association of Honduras (APROCACAHO) invites producers in Central America to exchange experiences regarding climate change, markets and obtaining good cocoa prices, reported Latribuna.hn.
"... Anibal Ayala, executive director of APROCACAHO said that the event will feature a taste contest, and will address issues such as climate change, production quality and information systems, which will be discussed by experts from the participating countries."
Promotion is being given to exports to China of organic cocoa-based foods, chocolate confectionery, unsweetened cocoa powder and cocoa paste.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Office of Costa Rica:
Western foods are gaining increasing market share in South Korea, whose market depends heavily on imports, which have been boosted by growth in per capita spending on food.
As part of a strategy to position internationally cocoa produced in Guatemala the regional union of producers are working on a seal of origin and traceability.
The initiative by the Mesoamerican Organization of Cocoa and Fine Chocolate (Amacacao) is to create a mechanism to certify the origin, quality and traceability of the final product, in order to increase international positioning and increase exports.
Support is being given to sustainable agriculture programs to meet growing consumer concern about the origin of the raw materials of the products they consume.
From a statement issued by the Cosa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
Cargill and Mondelēz International are promoting two programs to have a cocoa supply chain which is 100% sustainable by 2020.
Imports of this type of chocolates are favored by free trade agreements that Chile has, having allowed the import of chocolates from different countries.
From a press release issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office of Costa Rica (PROCOMER):
Chile is one of the countries with the highest demand for chocolate in Latin America, with a consumption of 3 kilos per capita per year, matching levels of some European countries.
Projections are that next year's global grain production will remain insufficient to meet the growing demand, raising the international price to historically high levels.
In the international market the price of cocoa reported a 10% increase up to September this year, reaching $3.39 per ton of grain in the stock market in New York. It is expected that this trend will continue in 2015 due to high demand for the product.
The government has announced that it is in talks with US company to offer conditions to install a chocolate producing plant in the country.
A visit has been scheduled for January 2015 for businessmen from The Hershey Company, who will verify the quality of Honduran cacao as a raw material for producing chocolate. In addition, the government of Honduras is looking to negotiate with the company over the installation of a processing plant in order to distribute the finished product from Honduras to major world markets.
Operating Company dedicated to the manufacture of gluten-free and sugar-free products, OHNE brand. The OHNE brand has 8 product lines: square bread, sweet...