LA FERIA DE CHOCOLATE DE COSTA RICA

LA FERIA DE CHOCOLATE DE COSTA RICA

In San José, Antigua Aduana 25th – 26th June

Costa Rica chocolate is making a come back after 50 years in the wilderness. Once the domination of the lowlands of more than 19,000 hectares in Costa Rica, a devastating disease arrived in the 1970s of the deadly monilla fungus, killing off 80 percent of the country´s cacao plants. Higher profits were sought and nearly all of the infected trees were replaced with pineapple and palm oil farming.

However today, chocolate is in high demand due to a world shortage, with Africa’s cacao plantations struggling to cope with productions after it took over from the Americas in the early 1980s With this in mind, the value of the Costa Rica cacao crop, along with its neighbors is likely to rise again. “Chocolate demand goes up about 25 percent every 10 years,” said Raymond Major, the senior manager of sustainable initiatives for the Hershey Company and “What is really interesting now is what is happening in Asia. If demand continues to grow there, it will really affect what happens in the future.”

A healthy Cacao Plant ripe for the picking in Costa Rica

chocolate-plant-costa-rica
So to celebrate the resurgence of the Costa Rica cacao farming industry, this weekend San José is hosting, La Feria de Chocolate. Tickets can be bought on arrival for just ¢2,000 with free entry for children at the Antigua Aduana, San José. This will be the first time the capital has held a national chocolate fair with 65 to 70 small farmers and chocolate makers throughout the country coming to exhibit and sell their produce, along with demonstrations and talks about the history of the cocao plant. So it certainly promises to be a delicious and interesting day out for all the family!

By giving your support this weekend, MAG, Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería de Costa Rica is aiming to push forward the production of chocolate in Costa Rica with both the economical and environmental advantages, which is the foremost national interest to the country. MAG is now working to create more cacao farms and improve the quality of the crops. Spokesperson of MAG, Soriano, said that “If all of us as an industry show that we are dedicated, we will all help put Costa Rica on the chocolate map.”

A bag of cacao beans from AAPTA, Costa Rica’s largest cacao farming cooperative.

APPTA Cacao sack

APPTA Cacao sack

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