One local cocoa company is calling on the Government to throw real support behind the industry.
Assistant Secretary of the Montserrat Cocoa Farmers’ Co-operative Society (MCFCS), Diane Chinpire, says the collapse of the Gran Couva Main Road is hurting their business.
The road collapsed during a major landslide that occurred in November 2022.
“The collapsed road has affected visitors to our Co-operative because we usually do tours,” she explained. “Also, many cocoa farmers in the Tortuga area are finding it a bit challenging to access our Co-operative to bring their beans for us to dry and to process.”
She also notes that cocoa exports continue to be affected.
“We export our beans, and the trucks are unable to access our Co-operative, so we’re incurring an additional cost to get the beans outside the area to pack into containers to export,” she said.
She added: “Our markup is already so small, and these extra costs are adding a serious economic burden on us.”
Despite those challenges, Dianne Chinpire says they are working hard to promote the many uses of the cocoa bean, including for gourmet snacks and haute cuisine.
The Co-operative hosted its third Cocoa Food Festival at La Vega Estate in Gran Couva, over the weekend.
Available for sale and to sample were a wide variety of foods made with cocoa, ranging from snow cones to chows and even doubles.