Reader Móni Rivas Matos responded to a post on Puerto Rican coffee, saying, “Cacao would be more logical to grow. It can grow in heat. Coffee is more fragile.” Puerto Rico’s coffee industry was decimated by Hurricane Maria and is having a tough time becoming reestablished, but the industry remains optimistic. Could cacao be another crop with a future in Puerto Rico?
Agriculture has been having a renaissance in Puerto Rico, and cacao is part of that resurgence. Companies like Hacienda Jeanmarie and La Chocolateria are working not only to grow cacao but to process the fruit to create chocolate products on the Island.
Cacao history in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has perfect conditions for growing cacao: hot, wet summers, mild winters, latitude near the Equator, and a high level of biodiversity. Recent research shows that Puerto Rico can produce higher yields and higher quality of cacao pods than the global average.
There is some evidence that the indigenous Taino people may have grown cacao on the Island. Certainly, European colonists reintroduced cacao and relied on it as a major cash crop during the Renaissance. In the 1700s, hurricanes apparently destroyed most of the trees. At that time, cacao was a labor-intensive crop compared to coffee or vegetables. Economic factors also required that farming focus on essential food rather than luxury crops. Cacao farming continued, but did not return to its primary position in Puerto Rico’s agricultural economy.
With the American annexation of Puerto Rico at the end of the 19th century, farmers in Puerto Rico were encouraged to focus on sugar production, and by the end of the 20th century, commercial cacao production was essentially over.
Cacao’s future in Puerto Rico
With support from the USDA and the territory’s academic institutions, modern cacao farmers are bringing about a comeback for cacao in Puerto Rico. Rather than attempting to compete with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the primary producers of cacao by volume in the world, Puerto Rico’s cacao farmers are focusing on the luxury market, painstakingly developing varieties of cacao that boast fine flavor and top quality.
Puerto Rico’s manufacturing chops are helping out, too. Rather than merely supplying raw materials for major chocolate manufacturers, Puerto Rican growers are roasting their own and creating their own products. Larger companies like Chocolate Cortés and Forteza Chocolate sell in the states as well as locally, and smaller companies offer bean-to-bar production.
Many of the cacao and chocolate producers are also integrating tourism into their operations, creating chocolate tours, tasting rooms, cafes, and other experiences for visitors. Cacao, unlike coffee, is a year-round crop, and the producers on the Island are approaching the crop in ways that encourage year-round income.
It’s unlikely that cacao will become a significant export crop for Puerto Rico in terms of global volume. However, it is very realistic to believe it can become a significant high-value specialty export. The Island’s cacao industry is focused on quality, not quantity, which is a more sustainable and profitable model for Puerto Rico.
What’s needed?
Infrastructure improvements, continued support from the USDA and protocols designed to prevent importation of disease and pests are essential to the success of the cacao revival. As a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico has advantages over other Caribbean chocolate producers — but statehood would level the playing field. For the United States, Hawaii is currently the only state that can grow cacao. Having a second state which can produce chocolate would significantly increase American-made chocolate.
It’s a win-win situation.
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