Cocoa

Cocoa desks exist as small departments within large multi-product agricultural traders, as well as entire trading firms dedicated to global cocoa trading and procurement/sourcing.  Imperium Commodity Search has experience as a recruitment agency with both global trading houses and niche product specialists across Cocoa and Cacao. 

Imperium Commodity Search are well placed to assist candidates and clients alike in their personal and corporate growth within the global cocoa markets. 

What is Cocoa? 

Cocoa is a term used to describe the fermented and dried bean of the evergreen cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) and used to create cocoa butters and powders which are used in the food production industry for the production of chocolate and chocolate based products.  Cocoa is a key ingredient in chocolate but is also used in a wide variety of other applications, including cosmetics, animal feed, fertilizer/fertiliser, mulch and soft & alcoholic drinks.  The husk of the cocoa seeds are used in animal feed and the contents, or pulp, used to produce cocoa butter, powders and drinks/cosmetics.  

Similar to other soft commodities, the production and consumption of cocoa has increased steadily this century, with current annual production sitting at around 3,000,000 metric tonnes.  Cocoa production employs around 6 million people in farming globally and is produced by small family farms across over 50 countries.  There are widespread concerns around slavery and conditions in Cocoa farming and almost 2 million of the 6 million farmers involved in production are part of the Fairtrade organisation. 

There are 3 main distinct types of cocoa produced:

Forestero Cocoa

Forestero Cocoa is the most commonly grown cocoa tree, accounting for around 80-90% of global production each year.  Forestero is a high-yield form of cocoa, and is semi-resistant to a lot of infections and parasites that affect cocoa production.  

Criollo Cocoa

Criollo Cocoa is considered a delicacy globally due to the small number of farms that still produce this type of cocoa.  It is at higher risk of diseases when compared to Forestero seeds and produces a much smaller yield volume, which has lead to many countries ceasing to produce this form.  Where it is grown, prices are higher due to its sought after status. 

Trinitario Cocoa

This strain of cocoa is a hybrid of the aforementioned Criollo and Forestero varieties and originates in Trinidad.  It has the advantage of producing higher quality product than the Forestero tree’s, however produces a higher yield and is less prone to disease compared with the Criollo variety of cocoa.

Of cocoa producing countries, the list of top ten producers is dominated by African and South American countries, with only Indonesia on the list from outside these two continents.  The top 5 cocoa producing countries are: