With the exhibition of more than 90 companies, Guayaquil has become the center of the cocoa and chocolate industry from this Tuesday, July 18 to next Thursday, July 20, after the inauguration of the Chokao 2023 fair, which takes place at the Hilton Colón in Guayaquil, which is enveloped in the sweet aroma of the “golden nugget”.

This event, which has been held since 2022, brings together producers, chocolatiers and lovers of this candy for the second time to explore the latest trends and innovations in the chocolate market, as well as cocoa, of which Ecuador is one of the main producers behind African countries such as the Ivory Coast and Ghana, according to data from National Association of Cocoa Exporters and Industrialized Ecuador (Anecacao).

During the inauguration, Iván Ontaneda, president of the board of Anecacao, made it clear that the sector’s projections are that Ecuador will produce about 800,000 tons of cocoa by 2030 and generate a contribution of $2.5 billion to the economy.

At the Chokao cocoa and chocolate fair, an income of 3 million dollars is expected in business circles

According to union figures, the sector currently represents an annual income of more than $1,000 million and 400,000 jobs for the country. In 2022, a record was reached with 414,644 tons exported, which represents an increase of 14.95% compared to the previous year and generated a contribution to the national economy of more than 1,080 million dollars. For this year, the sector hopes to break the export record again.

Ontaneda pointed out the good moment that the price of cocoa is going through, which helps these projections. He assured that it is currently high, and this is positive for a small producer, who receives $150 per quintal and $3,500 per ton. On the other hand, he pointed out that the goal for 2024 is to reach an average ton per hectare. He emphasized that the sector managed to move from half a ton of cocoa trees – the average multi-year production – to the current eight tons per hectare. And that thanks to the private strategy of the production chain between private companies and associations of small producers.

World Cocoa Day: Ecuador expects to avoid El Niño effects in 2023 to break export record

Regarding the event, he pointed out that more than 70 international businessmen from Asia, Europe and the United States of America, which are the main export markets for Ecuadorian cocoa, will come to the fair to look for new opportunities or to strengthen the presence of domestic cocoa in their markets.

However, there is concern in the sector about the future effects that could be brought by the El Niño phenomenon, which could appear at the end of this year. Faced with the problem, Ontaneda assured that the sector has invested in strategies to deal with these effects.

“Small producers associated with cocoa companies in the country have helped to clean the canals, rebuild the infrastructure that will go some way to mitigate the weather storms that we expect to begin in the coming months.” However, the harvest is expected to come out. “We have a lot of faith that we can have a good harvest this year, starting in September,” said Ontaneda.

Cocoa exports fell 15% in the first two months of this year, with accumulated losses the sector quantifies at $25 million

For her part, Merlyn Casanova, CEO of Anecacaohe referred to the progress which will be distributed during the scientific congress held parallel to the fair in Chokao. He advanced that there are vaccines to improve cacao production, developed by Ecuador’s National Institute for Agricultural Research (Iniap). “We have 800 and 801, which mostly comes from the national cacao tree and helps prevent pests and is a more resistant clone.”

In the three-day event, several segments related to the cocoa environment will be held: fair, gastronomic congress, history and trends of the cocoa tree, seminars and workshops, chocofest, business conference and more. it will also be 51 speakers domestic and international, 12 domestic and international chefs.