Cacao México

Mexico has 39,149 cocoa production units, for instance, in the State of Tabasco there are more than 35,000 cocoa farmers, however several of the cocoa farms and productive regions are in a state of neglect and lack of maintenance, there has been lack of support for the cocoa farmers to give them credit for incorporating new technologies to agriculture and to train them to implement sustainable agricultural techniques.

Similarly there is a lack of support for farmers to close their supply chains till they achieve the commercialization of the product.

Due to the lack of capital, credit, technology and training competitiveness has being lost and cocoa production in Mexico has been declining.

In 2005 production was 36,366 tons and in 2006 production fell to 26,705 tons and in 2007 the harvest dropped by another 10% to 23,878 tons and has continued to decline, so Cocoa Mexico Foundation plans to reactivate crops and cocoa production making Mexico one of the leading producers and exporters worldwide, generating income for farmers and their families while protecting the environment.

Per capita consumption of chocolate in Mexico is very low: 550 grams. This could increase through consumption campaigns to take advantage of the 25 million people living in the country which represents a huge internal market.

Average crop yields are very low in the country at about 500 kg / ha, compared to Indonesia which are at 950 kg / ha. The poor performance is due to several factors such as:

Abandonment of plantations for the low price of the product (low quality, lack of certifications, etc.)
Aging trees (approximately 25% of the farms in Tabasco are over 40 years old)
Lack of control of diseases and pests such as moniliasis, witch broom and black spot
Lack of modernization and technification in the crops
Lack of sustainable agricultural practices that promote water conservation, use of natural fertilizers, etc.

Opportunities

Moreover cocoa demand has continued to grow. For 20 years, the consumption of cocoa products has increased at an average annual rate of 2.5%. This means that demand for cocoa is doubling every 25 years.

Demand for chocolate is concentrated in Europe, America and Japan, however the populations of China and India have accelerated their demand in recent years, so that in order to meet this demand global production should rise considerably.

Cacao México

PROMOTING A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

Cocoa problematic in Mexico and Opportunities

[en]Gallery[/en][es]Galería[/es]

Strategic Partners