Newly appointed European Union (EU) ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Peter Cavendish believes with proper investment and best practices, this country’s cocoa industry can be revived and become a force to be reckoned with globally.
Speaking with Business Day last week, Cavendish said cocoa can be a major source of income for TT, and the European Union was seeking to encourage all stakeholders to get on board with a project they planned to initiate soon.
Cocoa from TT was known throughout the world, he said, for its richness and delicious flavour, but needed work to become more exportable to Europe.
Cavendish explained that while Europeans consumed about 50 per cent of the world's chocolate, TT cocoa products were a concern because they contained cadmium.
UWI says TT cocoa is a bioaccumulator of cadmium, which means it stores the heavy metal in the stems, leaves, fruit and seed, through their natural processes. Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal used in batteries, industrial components, and paint, and is also found in volcanic soil.
UWI said, “The European Food Safety Authority has released standards for maximum permissible amounts of cadmium in cocoa and chocolate. In TT, high cadmium contamination is localised in certain areas to the northeast, where the soil is volcanic in nature.”
Cavendish said the EU had plans to undertake several studies and work with UWI, cocoa producers, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to find solutions to the cadmium contamination.
In a collaboration with other donors, almost €350,000 has been invested in the project to boost the sector and promote economic diversification for TT and several Latin American countries. It has invested €50,000 or $400,745 in the TT leg of the project.
“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.
“Historically TT was producing 40,000 tonnes of cocoa per year and now it is about 3,000 tonnes. TT has some of the best cocoa plants in the world. Trinitario is the world's number one, and it is used in many other countries.”
Cavendish said, “We are working with a local family, but they are London-based, and they have some iconic products and marketing. We are also working with UWI because of their expertise and research in cocoa. The institution was among the best in the world.
[caption id="attachment_903941" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Cocoa beans drying at the Ortinola Cocoa Estate, Maracas, St Joseph. EU ambassador to TT Peter Cavendish says the country can benefit from the billion-dollar cocoa market. - PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB[/caption]
“The average European is already consuming the average amount of cadmium each week and it is bad for your kidneys and liver and this is why we are sensitised to it.”
He did not name the company but said they were working together to produce other products such as chocolate liqueurs and establish a cadmiu
