Vietnam’s total cocoa area has sharply increased to 8,000 hectares as of late Mar of 2007, mostly in southern and central highlands provinces, according to the Vietnam Cocoa Management and Development Committee.
The committee said Vietnam planned to expand its total area under cocoa plantation to around 10,000 ha by 2010, adding that the surprising growth of cocoa area during the past time shows the huge potential of local cocoa sector.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) invested around VND1.4 billion in a project encouraging local farmers in Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tien Giang and Ben Tre, where cocoa trees grow well, to develop cocoa area.
This year, farmers will plant an additional 6,000ha of cocoa.
The MARD also allowed the expansion of 8 clonally propagated cocoa varieties, while importing 17 more new varieties to raise local cocoa productivity.
Presently, E.D & FMan and Cargill are the two major consumers of Vietnamese cocoa beans. They set up stores in Ben Tre and Dak Lak to do cocoa business in the long term.
However, the quality of Vietnamese-grown cocoa beans is still low and fails to reach international standards. MARD statistics report that poor-quality beans currently account for some 20 per cent of total cocoa output.
Dried cocoa beans have been priced at VND20,000 to 22,000 per kg, up around VND2,000-2,200 from last year. (Vietnam & World Economy)
Vietnamese
