Cocoa Prices Rocket in Vietnam
Cocoa is now traded at between VND35,000 and VND40,000 a kilo in Vietnam, up by VND10,000 a kilo from late 2007 and being the highest ever level so far in the country.
The price hikes are leading to expansion of cocoa cultivation areas, trading and producing networks nationwide.
According to the Cargill Company, the quality of Vietnamese cacao in the 2007-2008 crop has exceeded the country’s set standards and of the same quality of other cacao producers in the world such as Ghana and Indonesia.
Currently, almost of Vietnamese cocoa are for exports, with 92 per cent of them are dried seeds.
Cocoa is now mainly grown in southern provinces of Vietnam, under nearly 10,300 hectares. The country planned to expand the area to 14,150 hectares by the year’s end. Some 1,586 hectares are harvestable with average output of 0.2 tons per hectare.
Vietnam mapped out a US$2.5 million project to expand the cacao growing acreage to 80,000 ha by 2020, producing 108,000 tons of dried seed with export revenues of between US$100 million and US$120 millions. (Vietnam & World Economy)
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