Exclusive guest blog: Brazil pledges to double cocoa production by end of decade
Sao Paulo in Brazil formed the backdrop for this week's WCF partnership meeting. Pic: Adobestock
Tony Myers, editor of Cocoa Radar, offers an exclusive blog for Confectionery Production, reflecting on the World Cocoa Foundation’s major two-day partnership meeting this week, which highlighted the prospect for the industry’s growth in its host nation of Brazil.
The potential of Brazil, as the host country for the World Cocoa Foundation’s 2025 Partnership Meeting, to become a global powerhouse in cocoa production was a strong takeaway after two days of intense, high-level talks this week in São Paulo.
“There is much we can learn from Brazil,” said WCF president Chris Vincent in his opening speech.
Despite Brazil’s cocoa production declining 20% in 2024 to 179,000 metric tonnes from 220,000 tonnes in the previous year, experts were optimistic that output could double if not triple, over the next decade due to advances in mechanization and disease management.
Brazil is seen as a standard-bearer in the industry by adopting innovative technologies and effective technical assistance strategies for small-holder farmers to help them grow more cocoa.
Still, challenges remain, with more volatility in the markets expected in 2025. Announced at the Meeting an initiative has been launched from four Brazilian organizations Arapyau Institute, Violet, Toboa, MOV Investments) to support small-scale cocoa farmers, with a Kawa fund.
It aims to raise 1 billion reais (approximately $176 million) by 2030 to provide loans to small-holder cocoa farmers, particularly in the main growing regions of Bahia and Pará, to enhance their operations and productivity.
One of the most critical sessions at this year’s Meeting was on disease management, highlighting strategies for diseases such as CSSV (Cacao swollen shoot virus) and Monilla, which is a particular cause of concern for LATAM cocoa farmers.
The pest has become more virulent, and different vectors and strains of the virus have emerged, each more aggressive than the last, delegates were informed.
Progress has been made in awareness programmes with the training of agents, and work being carried out in laboratories developing resistant varieties.
Integrated pest management (IPM) and agroforestry, including barrier plants, were seen as an effective strategy of prevention, along with training farmers to spot outbreaks of the spores on cocoa pods early on to prevent contagion on farms and the spread to other regions.
The session emphasised the importance of preparedness in affected regions, including research, innovative approaches, and collaboration among researchers, government agencies, and field practitionerssion.
Despite current challenges, a study by Instituto Aya and Systemiq reveals that Brazil can capture up to 13% of the global cocoa market by 2030, potentially generating $2.3 billion in revenue and creating up to 300,000 jobs in the sector.
Support for the country’s cocoa sector has also been provided by the government’s INOVA CACAU plan, which targets cocoa production of 400,000 by 2030.
This high expectation is based on Brazil’s established industrial base and strong domestic chocolate market, which is supported by CocoaAction Brasil, a successful WCF initiative launched six years ago to enhance and support the domestic supply.
To help facilitate the push to make Brazil a cocoa powerhouse again, after many years in decline, the federal government is also investing in and supporting the sector by opening up more straightforward access to credit so farmers can invest in their land, produce more beans and earn a decent living income.
Anthony Myers, Editor, Cocoaradar.com
