There is a lucrative market for TT’s cocoa industry in Europe, says Netherlands ambassador Raphaël Varga van Kibéd.
Business Day met with him last week at his residence in Goodwood Park to get an insight into trade and investment opportunities in his country and the rest of Europe.
Varga van Kibéd explained that agriculture generally has a big space in Europe, but the local sector was not producing enough to make a significant dent in the international market.
“Agriculture is important for TT, and I know that it has been neglected in the past, but it is very important now with the pandemic, which has brought about huge rises in products. I know there are good plans, but please TT go forward to have sustainable agriculture with home grown products.
“You have so many possibilities in local agriculture, especially with the cocoa industry because the quality of cocoa in TT is amazing, it is the highest quality in the world.”
Varga van Kibéd said TT’s cocoa was already a hit in Europe and was being used in small amounts in countries across the region in many chocolate products.
[caption id="attachment_948544" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Montanos 60% dark chocolate. -[/caption]
He said the European Union, to which the Netherlands belongs, was already looking into several projects to assist TT with its cocoa and chocolate productions for export.
In July last year, EU ambassador Peter Cavendish hinted at several projects in the local cocoa sector, including working with UWI, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries and other stakeholders to find solutions to cadmium contamination in the soil.
Cavendish said then, “As an example of what we are doing is to work with the International Cocoa Organisation and Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and TT to treat the effect of cadmium in cocoa.”
He added that the cocoa industry brought in an estimated US$100 billion a year, and it was unfortunate that TT has not been able to share that wealth.
As steps were being taken to revitalise the cocoa sector, TT Fine Cocoa, headed by Ashley Parasram, announced in November 2021 that it would be setting up its own manufacturing plant for cocoa products.
The $2.5 million facility was said to be part of a wider investment which was scheduled to get going by mid-2022 and have exports hit US shelves by the end of 2022.
TT cocoa has been in the spotlight many times, having won several international awards and accolades.
Meanwhile, Montano's Chocolate Co Ltd (MCCL) opened a factory in Arouca, where it manufactures chocolate bars, cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs; and the Grande Riviere Chocolate Company produces dark chocolate and cocoa-based products using Trinitario cocoa.
But while these projects were happening on the sideline, the Cocoa Development Company (CDC) TT Ltd in March called for urgent action to save the industry.
The CDC falls under the remit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries and is responsible for facilitating the development of the cocoa sector in keeping with internationa
