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Cacao Producing Countries
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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.
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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 |
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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 no problem at all!
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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About the cacao tree