World’s Largest Cocoa Producing Countries | Economic Geography

Cocoa cultivation originated in tropical America but became commercially important only at the be­ginning of this century. The increased consumption of chocolate, rather than cocoa-drinking, was the chief cause of the rapid rise of the cocoa industry. Cocoa was first exported from the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1891.

Today Ghana is still the world’s greatest pro­ducer and exporter of cocoa, accounting for a fifth of the annual production. World cocoa output has ap­proximately doubled every 15 years since 1900 but has remained fairly steady during the 1970s. Annual world production today is about 1 400 000 tonnes.

The West African states, especially Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroun, together account for near­ly 60 per cent of world cocoa. The rest comes from Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, the Central American states and the West Indian islands.

West African Countries:

The West African countries have good, though not always ideal, condi­tions for cocoa growing. The climate is warm and moist with a dry season from September to February for harvesting, drying and preparing the cocoa beans for export. The cocoa industry is always threatened by diseases and insect-infestation but better farming techniques and higher-yielding varieties help to offset this difficulty.

Large areas of the 800-km (500 mile) long coastal lowland bordering the Gulf of Guinea are devoted to cocoa cultivation (Fig. 5.7). Cocoa is culti­vated mainly on smallholdings and the best methods are not always employed. However disease-control measures, communication and port development, scientific plant breeding and a more liberal use of fer­tilizers have all contributed to the growth of the industry.

Cocoa yields increased to 1 680-2 220 kg/ hectare (1,500 to 2,000 lb per acre) by the 1960s but have since declined again. Brazil and Ivory Coast, the newer producers have yields over 500 kg/hectare (450 lb/acre) but older producers like Ghana and Ni­geria have much lower yields, around 200 kg/hectare (175 lb/acre).

In Ghana, cocoa production rose rapidly from less than 45 kg (100 lb) in 1891 to over 420 000 tonnes (1967), but had dropped back to 310 000 tonnes in 1977, due to the predominance of old trees, the lack of disease control, bad farm management and lack of government incentives to improve production. Fixed prices are low and the drive towards food self- sufficiency makes maize a more valuable crop.

Cocoa is the country’s greatest money-earner accounting for over 60 per cent of exports and is cultivated on about 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) of land. Cultiva­tion began in coastal districts but now cocoa is grown as much as 720 km (450 miles) inland and sent by rail or road to the exporting ports.

The greatest concentra­tion is in the cocoa triangle formed by the towns of Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi. Before the construction of the artificial harbour at Takoradi, ships had to anchor about 2 kilometres or more out at sea, and be loaded by surf boats, but the deep-water anchorage at Takoradi has eased the shipment of cocoa as well as other exports.

Cocoa is shipped to all parts of the world, the chief importing ports include: London, Le Havre, Hamburg, Marseilles, New York and New Orleans. Some cocoa processing is also done at Takoradi.

In Nigeria, cocoa is the next most important export crop after palm oil. Its annual production was 210 000 tonnes in 1977 and it holds fourth place in the world cocoa trade. The crop was introduced in Nigeria before it was established in Ghana (in 1874) but has never attained the same importance. Areas with favourable climatic conditions are fewer in Nigeria.

Rainfall in the cocoa-growing area is between 1 145 and 1 525 mm (45 and 60 inches) and there is a distinct dry sea­son but cocoa cannot be grown in the wetter areas as the soils are unsuitable. The leading cocoa region is in the south-west, around Ibadan, and the crop covers over 200 000 hectares (0.5 million acres) of land. Ef­forts have been made by the Nigerian government to expand the cocoa acreage under the Second National Development Plan (1968-73).

To assure farmers of their livelihood and to encourage food crop producers to grow cash crops and thus boost exports, guaranteed minimum prices are offered by the national marketing board for both cocoa and oil palm. Profits made by the board are used to develop new croplands or for improving the agricultural and marketing facilities in the country. Cocoa is exported through Lagos and Port Harcourt.

The major trading nations include the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, the Nether­lands and Germany. The products come by road or rail from the interior, and also by launches and canoes through the network of inland waterways.

The Portuguese colonies of Sao Tome and Principe were once the second greatest producers of cocoa when the Portuguese first introduced its cultivation into Africa. Like the island of Fernando Po (once Spanish but now part of independent Equatorial Gui­nea), the Portuguese islands benefited from rich vol­canic soils. It was from these islands in the Gulf of Guinea that cocoa was taken to Ghana and Nigeria.

Production, however, declined after 1910 when im­porters boycotted the islands’ produce because of the harsh labour conditions on the Portuguese estates. The other main African cocoa producers are Ivory Coast (147 000 tonnes in 1967,240 000 tonnes in 1977 and Cameroun (94 000 tonnes).

In both these countries there is some estate cultivation of cocoa but small­holders produce the bulk of the crop. The Ivory Coast cocoa area is an extension of that of Ghana. Ivory Coast has become the world’s second largest producer. Its trees are mainly young and new hybrids are being developed, farm management is scientific and yields are twice as high as in traditional cocoa areas in Ghana.

The Tropical American Countries:

Being ‘the home of cocoa’, the tropical American region was the sole exporter of cocoa beans until the Portuguese introduced the crop into West Africa. The region’s present contribution of 30 per cent of world cocoa output is dominated by Brazil, whose annual produc­tion of about 228 000 tonnes makes it the third largest world producer.

The district of Bahia in north-eastern Brazil ac­counts for 90 per cent of the Brazilian output, the remainder coming from around Espirito Santo, along the eastern Brazilian coast north of Sao Paulo. Ilheus is the chief cocoa port and ships half the annual pro­duction to the United States alone. Bahia has very good climatic conditions for cocoa planting. Rainfall is heavy (over 2 030 mm/80 inches) and well distrib­uted; the mean annual temperature is 26°C (78°F); relative humidity is high, about 70 per cent.

Estates usually have a coastal location, and cocoa cultivation stretches for 560 km (350 miles) down the east Brazil­ian coast. The red clay soils (massape) of the crystalline rocks are ideal for the crop. Cocoa is grown on estates, in much the same way as coffee, and planting methods are careless and lead to soil exhaustion and erosion.

Bananas are “planted to shade the cocoa trees or else the taller forest trees are left standing when the land is cleared. Labour for the harvest is provided by mi­grant labourers from the interior sertao. Harvesting begins in April but the main crop is picked between September and December.

Ecuador, which was once a major cocoa exporter, now yields about 72 000 tonnes a year, or 5 per cent of the world total. Cocoa cultivation is concentrated in the Guayaquil lowlands between the Gulf of Guaya­quil and the foothills of the Andes. Climatic, soil and physical conditions are ideal and the crop is of high quality.

Unfortunately, the trees were plagued by fungus diseases which destroyed many of the planta­tions during the 1920s. Most farmers then turned to bananas, coffee and sugar-cane, and the present cocoa output of Ecuador is only a sixth of its former peak production.

Cocoa production from the rest of South America is small. There are small plantations in Venezuela, Peru, Colombia and the islands of Trinidad and To­bago. As there are more profitable crops and minerals in these regions, cocoa cultivation is not likely to take a prominent place in their economies.

The witches’ broom disease which broke out in Ecuador in 1922 also spread to Trinidad and Tobago and adversely af­fected yields. Many cocoa trees in tropical America, as in West Africa, are still diseased, resulting in low yields, and despite extensive studies of the diseases by scien­tists from all over the world, complete remedies have still not been found. It is vital that this problem of disease and pest control is given high priority if cocoa cultivation is to prosper.

In Central America and the West Indies cocoa cul­tivation is on a small scale. Some farms are owned by Europeans but there are many local smallholders. Cocoa is grown chiefly for home consumption. In many parts of Central America, cocoa is grown on abandoned banana lands, e.g. in Costa Rica where a disease destroyed most of the banana plants. Amongst the more important cocoa producers are Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. The Carib­bean region produces excellent cocoa, though limited in quantity.

Cocoa cultivation is generally not important in Asia though climatic conditions in some places are suitable. Some is grown, however, in Malaysia. The chief area is in eastern Sabah but the government is also encour­aging its cultivation in Peninsular Malaysia and yields are high.

It could become a profitable smallholder crop or be intercropped with coconuts or rubber and would help to diversify the cash crops of the region. Papua New Guinea is the main South-East Asian producer (2 per cent) of the world total.