Haitian cocoa beans, 100% fermented and ready for export
By Nara Meli and Yolanda Strachan
Global demand for specialty cocoa beans is growing, and Haiti’s cocoa producers have an opportunity to capture a share of this expanding market. Haiti has a competitive advantage in the production of both organic and fine flavor cocoa. Already, most producers use organic methods because of the absence of major pests and diseases on farms. The country is also endowed with its own indigenous criollo variety, providing a strong foundation for producing Haitian fine flavor cocoa in the future. Criollo beans are prized for their exceptional flavor by high-end chocolatiers, pastry companies and luxury European chocolate brands that are willing to pay a premium price for high quality beans.
What are the challenges in the cocoa sector then?
The main challenges to the growth of the cocoa sector are small production volumes, low quality, and fragile producer organizations. Cocoa is grown as a cash crop by an estimated 15,000-20,000 small-scale producers, the majority of whom are poor. Approximately 60% of the nation’s producers live in the North Department and the remaining 40% live in the South in the Grande Anse Department.
Low production volumes. Although cocoa is Haiti’s second largest primary product export, with $6.9 million export revenue in 2011, volumes remain very low. The country exports just 4,000 metric tons, compared to the 60,000 metric tons per year produced by the Dominican Republic. This is due to the fact that Haitian producers cultivate on very small plots of about 0.5 hectares and many have trees over 30 years of age that are prone to lower yields.
Poor quality. After cocoa is harvested, beans should be fermented to bring out their flavor, an essential step in the production of high quality cocoa. However, in Haiti this step is regularly skipped by small producers, which reduces the quality of even the best cocoa varieties. Furthermore, improper drying practices further affect the quality of the bean, producing an inconsistent product. As a result unfermented Haitian cocoa is generally sold at a price discount of 15-20% of the global market price. Producers suffer the most from poor quality, as they receive a lower percentage of the already discounted export price for poor quality beans.
Fragile farmer cooperatives. Haiti’s cocoa cooperatives and producer organizations (10-20% of producers are organized in these groups) have the power to connect poor farmers to markets, but their potential remains untapped. Producer organizations lack basic skills for business and financial management. A number do not sell their cocoa collectively, which limits their ability to achieve greater volumes and undermines negotiating power with buyers. Moreover, most depend on intermediaries to link them to markets and have yet to establish direct business links with exporters and international buyers. Producer associations also lack working capital, which is crucial for financing purchases of cocoa from their members during the harvest season.
Despite the challenges in the sector, two entrepreneurial producer associations in Haiti are making significant strides in international markets. Fédération des Coopératives Cacaoyères du Nord (FECCANO) in Cap Haitien and Cooperative Agricole Union Development (CAUD) in Dame Marie are currently the only two organizations that are successfully exporting high-value fermented cocoa to specialty buyers. By tackling the issues related to production, post-harvest processing and, in the case of FECCANO, obtaining organic and fair-trade certifications, these two organization are setting a great example for the sector to follow.
Earlier this month, a MIF team went to Haiti to carry out field visits to cocoa growing communities in Dame Marie, in the Grande Anse department, and in Grande Rivière du Nord, North department. The team met with various groups along the cocoa value chain, from producer associations to exporters, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and agencies implementing similar interventions in the cocoa sector.
To respond to the challenges, the MIF is designing a project that will build the capacity of one of the main actors in the cocoa value chain: producer organizations. Through a partnership with producer groups – six in the Grande Anse and six in the North department – the project will benefit approximately 7,000 cocoa producers. The project will address three significant challenges facing small scale producers of cocoa, namely improving productivity, upgrading quality systems at the production level, and strengthening the organizational capacity of producer organizations to become transparent and financially sustainable enterprises in the value chain.
Watch this space for more information on the project!