Cocoa growers are happy, they are enjoying a period of good prices, there has been a spurt of growth to match the unfavorable weather conditions for production in competing countries, with a reduction in supply favoring Ecuador. The duration of this good cycle is unpredictable, we hope it is not a fleeting illusion, just thinking about the threat of El Niño forces us to adopt measures to face it, pests and diseases will come with it, it will be necessary to deepen programs of fertilization and physiological strengthening of plantations , so that businessmen could accumulate surpluses and invest them in protection.

Cultivation of the cocoa tree, a vegetable that the botanist Carlos Linnaeus baptized the food of the gods, is a noble activity that fulfills a sympathetic social function, thousands of Ecuadorian families survive from it with women as special protagonists, some are the owners of plots that, however small they may be, are a basic contribution to the satisfaction of the main the need of a large population and a chain that includes processing, drying and transport. If it were fair compensation, producers deserve much more, so much so that current payments do not reflect the increase in costs to maintain crops without child labor, in areas that have not been recently deforested and that are in strict compliance with European environmental and social regulations., a merit that should manifest itself in a special bonus that corresponds to the efforts of microentrepreneurs of gold nuggets.

It has conquered select markets such as the United States, Canada and the European Union, advancing with firm steps towards others with clear horizons such as Japan, China, South Korea and Russia, predicting, according to union leaders, to reach 2030 with exports no less of 800,000 tons and generate foreign exchange close to 2,500 million dollars, thereby consolidating its glittering position as the third world supplier thanks to exemplary private investments that promoted a successful variety change, a determinant of increased production and profitability, a source of prosperity.

It is urgently necessary to strengthen the unions of producers and exporters, who stand out for their struggle in international forums, seeking a better price for a product that stands out for its quality and purity, who can lobby not only before local or regional state authorities without intimidation before the administrative bodies of the European Union, neutralizing regulations that are not applicable to the Ecuadorian environment to be imposed using the principles of due diligence and joint responsibility, when they should first be observed by the dominant transnational companies in the chocolate market.

Export data are plausible, but in order to strengthen the national position, it is necessary to strive for higher sales of semi-finished products and chocolate, stimulated by commercial instruments that are incorporated into the free trade portfolio, which are manifested by an increase in foreign exchange for the nation and a profitable treatment for the peasants. (OR)