Cacao Producing Countries
Cacao (cocoa) is produced in countries within 10° south and 10° north of the equator. The largest cacao producing countries are listed in the table below; in addition a large number of countries have small productions of cacao. See also information at the International Cocoa Organization website.
Large Cacao Producing Countries 2001/02 | ||
| Ivory Coast | 1,265,000 tonnes | |
| Indonesia | 455,000 tonnes | |
| Ghana | 341,000 tonnes | |
| Nigeria | 180,000 tonnes | |
| Brazil | 124,000 tonnes | |
| Cameroon | 126,000 tonnes | |
| Ecuador | 81,000 tonnes | |
| Dominican Republic | 45,000 tonnes | |
| Papua New Guinea | 41,000 tonnes | |
| Malaysia | 25,000 tonnes | |
| Colombia | 38,000 tonnes | |
| Mexico | 35,000 tonnes | |
| World (estimate) | 2,855,000 tonnes | |
| Source: International Cocoa Organization | ||
The processing of cacao beans is predominantly undertaken in Europe and North America with the Netherlands and the USA as the leading countries. However, there has been a steady increase in cacao processing in other countries, and in 2003/04 the Ivory Coast was the world's third largest cacao processing country.
Cacao holiday destinations
Cacao is also produced in a large number of other countries, see e.g, the list published by theUS Foreign Agricultural Service or the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. So finding a holiday destination where you can visit cacao plantations is not at all difficult!
The beautiful island of Grenada has a very small production of approximately 800 metric tonnes a year, Cuba has a production of approximately 2,200 tonnes. Samoa produces only 500 tonnes. All these countries are well worth a visit, not only because of their cacao plantations, but also because of their picturesque cities, beautiful landscapes, nice beaches and interesting culture.
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