The international demand for the cocuy, a liqueur artisanal Venezuelan made from agave, is on the rise after the drink gained awards in international competitions, sometimes surpassing the tequilathe best-known distillate of the plant.
The new status of the cocuy could be a boon for its producers in a country that could use an economic success story. Venezuela has been plagued by high inflation, but the government has allowed partial dollarization and many companies are willing to increase exports despite the obstacles.
Venezuela’s cocuy producers, however, say limited wild crops and the labor-intensive process to make the additive-free drink, the award-winning version of the liquor, are complicating efforts to ramp up production.
Made primarily in the western states of Lara and Falcón, cocuy tastes different from tequila and mezcal, as the drink is made from a different type of agave.
Tequila prices in Mexico have risen due to agave shortages due to growing European demand.
The Cocuy 7Primos brand won a bronze medal at the 2022 London Spirits Competition, while the Magno producer won two silver medals at the 2021 New York International Spirits Competition.
A rested cocuy from the La Capilla brand, made in Siquisique, in Lara, won a double gold medal at both the SIP Awards in the United States and at the China Wine & Spirits Competition 2022. Rested means that the drink has aged before being bottled .
Lara’s cocuy promotion association is watching “what international market niche is achieved because the quantity or volume of cocuy production is low”said the association’s spokesman, Cristóbal Sánchez.
“Between several producers we can fill a 20,000-liter container once a year. That is why we cannot think of selling to everyone, because it is an exotic, special product and very difficult to make”said Sánchez, who is also a producer.
arduous production
Several brands of cocuy consulted by Reuters estimate that the production of cocuy, which is made from the agave cocui, is about 30,000 liters per year in Lara. A brand in Falcón produces about 6,000 liters.
Growers say there is no data on annual domestic production or sales because much of it goes for local consumption.
The figures are far from the production and sale of the other famous liquor in Venezuela, rum, which reaches 8 million liters per year, according to its promoting association.
Three of the main producers of Venezuelan rum sold more than US$ 20 million of the drink during 10 months of 2022 to the markets of the United States and Europe, according to Import Genius.
A liter of 100% agave cocuy can be sold between US$18 and US$60, while its production has an average cost of US$12, not including marketing. Cane spirits like rum generally sell for less, between $3 and $5 a liter.
“In order to export we need money to expand production and human capital, so that we can have a sufficient stock to offer to the international market”said María Eugenia Durán, general manager of the Magno brand, in Falcón.
“Financing of research for the development of crops is also required”he added, because it generally takes eight to 10 years for a cocuy plant to mature.
Guillermo Camacaro, a producer from Lara, says that he has managed to harvest in five years by sowing in his nursery and then transplanting.
Guaranteeing new cocuy plantings, which would ensure the preservation of the wild agave, is key to mass production, he said.
“Here the vast majority do not have amounts of land that allow us to plant massive cocuy”said. “This is vital to talk about exports”.
Of the 365 cocuy producers in Lara, whose arid and semi-arid climate makes agave abundant, only about 70 make the liquor with 100% agave.
The difficult production process begins by cutting the leaves of the plant to get to its “head,” said Siquisique grower Nelson de la Rosa.
De la Rosa transports the heads with donkeys, he walks almost 15 kilometers to accumulate 100 heads.
The heads are then baked for about seven days in ovens or on fires dug into the ground, until caramelized. Its juice is fermented for another six days.
“We are in the presence of an exclusive product”said producer Héctor Pineda. “It deserves recognition of the cost involved in removing a liter of cocuy.”
(With information from Reuters)
Source: Gestion
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