Haiti's cocoa industry awaits international recognition

Although small in the face of South America's giants, Haiti is increasing its cocoa industry, earning better incomes for thousands of farmers and crushing the fashion that culinary art is the preserve of wealthy countries.

Haiti's annual production of 5,000 metric tons of cocoa pales compared to the 70,000 metric tons generated per year by neighbouring Dominican Republic. Still, the sector's growth is recent in the island nation.

Feccano, a federation of cocoa organizations in northern Haiti, became the first group to organize changes in 2001 by prioritizing farmers' profits.

"Before, there was a systematic destruction of cocoa trees because the price in the market wasn't interesting for farmers who favoured very short-cycle crops," said Guito Gilot, Feccano's marketing director.

The cooperative is now working with more than 4,000 farmers in northern Haiti.

By fermenting its affiliates' pills before export, Feccano has been able to target the market for fine and aromatic cocoa.

"Feccano's customers are paying for quality: they don't have the New York Stock Exchange as a reference," Gilot said.

Just-in-time collection

Smelling potential, Haiti's private sector also began investing in the cocoa industry, which until then had been supported solely by non-governmental organizations and philanthropic efforts.

By setting up its fermentation setter in 2014 in Acul-du-Nord, the company Produit des iles (PISA) entered the exchange. There are many But logistical challenges are many.

"The producers are saying that we work with farm less than a hectare, often divided into several plots, whereas, in Latin America, a small farmer already owns four or five hectares," said Aline Etlicher, who began the industry at PISA.

"We are buying fresh cocoa, the same day as the fruit so the operator no longer has the intricacies of drying and putting that they would have if they sold it to an intermediary," the French agronomist said.