The cocoa tree requires the hot, rainy climate of a tropical rain forest so is generally grown in areas within 20 degrees north or south of the equator.
It takes the cocoa tree about five years after planting to produce cocoa beans and about ten years to achieve peak production so changes in production capacity do not come quickly.
Each pod of the cocoa tree produces 20-50 beans, and it takes about 400 beans to make one pound of chocolate. Most cocoa is harvested between October and January.
The eight largest cocoa-producing countries at present are Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador and Malaysia; these countries represent 90% of world production.
Although cocoa is largely produced in developing countries, it is mostly consumed in industrialized countries; the USA, Germany, France and the UK are the main consumer countries.
A few multinational companies, like Nestlé and Barry Callebaut, dominate both processing and chocolate manufacturing.
2 comments:
That is good to know if we want to make a planting of cocoa trees in our garden !!
Yes, the Col du Légal is the perfect tropical environment for producing chocolate!
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