Second processing plant to be constructed to boost cocoa production

The St Vincent Cocoa Company, maker of Vincentian Chocolate, will construct a second cocoa processing plant on the Leeward side of St Vincent, in anticipation of an increase in cocoa production here.

Speaking at a press conference on May 11, Harry Marriott, the company’s chairman, explained that in addition to purchasing heavy duty equipment to develop farming roads to their lands, the company is hoping to acquire a small piece of Crown Land at Walliabou to establish a cocoa processing plant to complement the one on the Windward side.

He explained that the new processing plant will be the same size as that at Dixon, which sits on 5,000 sq ft of land; was constructed at a cost of approximately EC$1 Million and can be constructed very quickly.

“Another point that should be noted very much in terms of the facility on the Leeward side is that it is not just the question of lowering the cost of getting the cocoa from the Leeward side around to us.

If you imagine, in the future God willing, we will be producing thousands of tonnes of cocoa and that wet cocoa is 2.5 times heavier than dry cocoa, so it’s going to be a phenomenal amount of cocoa on the road, so the last thing any of us want, is to see 20 trucks a day coming through the middle of Kingstown.”

He said between 20 and 25 people are employed at Dixon, with a same number earmarked for employment at the new plant. Marriot said although the company is only producing 25 tonnes this year, this will build up in four or five years to 1000 tonnes.

The company’s market will be expanded to Europe and this week, ‘Islands Chocolate’ will be launched in the UK, while the following week, the first container of cocoa is expected to be exported to Europe.

Finance Director Aidon Shearman, said since the cocoa company was taken over in 2014, they are half way to achieving profitability. He explained that St Vincent Cocoa Company is privately owned and has invested EC$15 million of its own resources and a further EC$10 million for the time being, to ensure that the company is viable.

Shearman explained that although the company is not yet profitable, St Vincent Cocoa Company has supported various clubs and schools, and are this year sponsoring a contestant at the 2018 Ms SVG pageant.

Marriott explained that on the global market, there is only 5 to 6 per cent of fine tasting cocoa and St Vincent’s cocoa is of a high quality, coming from a strong genetic strain.

Andrew Hadley, managing director, explained that the company has also found vanilla on lands and are planting mahogany among the cocoa.

To date, the company has bought and leased almost 800 acres of land, with 400 planted with cocoa. They are projected to produce 25 tonnes of dry cocoa by the end of 2018. They are working to having 2,000 acres planted by 2024, with over 1,000 tonnes of dry cocoa exported in the same year.