Developing Organically

How does Grupo CONACADO contribute to the Dominican economy, specifically through its interaction with small, local producers?

CONACADO was founded in 1985 when small, medium, and even large producers were abandoning the cultivation of cocoa due to the unprofitability of the sector. With the assistance of the German Agency for International Cooperation, we decided to promote the improvement of the quality of the cocoa produced here. At the time, our cocoa was only exported to the US, where it was treated as a low-quality product. We decided to organize the producers into groups and educated them in the management of the product as a means of preserving and enhancing the quality and provided them with tools and logistical capacity. After much effort, the world began recognizing the potential of Dominican cocoa. We started in Europe, where high-quality cocoa was best appreciated and after a few years we managed to penetrate other markets on a global scale. Further international exposure came with the realization that most of our national cocoa producers did not treat the crops with industrial insecticides or chemicals, which gave our product even more value. We penetrated the international market at a time when organic cocoa was not common and created a niche for organic cocoa and our country remains number one today. We export around 17,000 tons per year, and 80% is certified as organic, fair trade cocoa.

How have your production numbers changed in the past few years?

Our associates are mostly small local farmers, and productivity rests at about 400kg per hectare, or 50lbs per load. This can be considered low productivity in relation to our potential; every hectare can yield up to 2,000kg compared to the approximately 400kg produced today. We must now move backwards in the production chain in order to improve this aspect of our productivity and have started an initiative to provide our associates with the technical assistance they need to sustainably maximize efficiency and improve our productivity without affecting quality. One of our farmers has gone from producing 400kg to almost 1,200 and we are expecting it to reach its potential in about two years.

What measures has the Dominican government taken to promote the production of cocoa?

The government has supported us in the past but there is no public policy as such directly dealing with the industry yet. We have proposed the implementation of measures that will protect not only our small local producers and associates, but also anyone wishing to invest in the sector hoping that they will find an adequate legal framework to protect their interests and continue investing. We are looking to become a low-risk investment to promote the sustainable growth of our industry. Our country needs to preserve the environment to sustain the production and export of cocoa. Since we promote organic farming, we inherently wish to protect the quality of our water supply, forest, and farmland.

Who are your main competitors, and what are your expansion plans for 2017?

We are investing in a plant that will be the most modern in the Caribbean region with a production capacity of 20,000 tons a year. We want the Dominican Republic to not only export the raw material but also diversify into other by-products of cocoa in order to make the national market more resistant to market fluctuations. We are brainstorming ways to increase production through projects made to create the “producer of the future.” These projects are aimed at keeping rural youth interested in agricultural traditions such as cocoa farming and keeping the industry alive.

What are the group’s objectives for 2017?

Our basic objectives are maintaining and improving our rate of growth, strengthening the technological aspects of the industry, creating the Dominican Institute for Organic Cocoa, and continuing to collaborate with our associates and the government to create the legal framework that our industry needs to ensure its competitiveness and sustainability.