Gandhinagar, 26 August 2020
South Gujarat Agricultural University, Navsari, has recommended to grow delicious cocoa trees used for making chocolate, crops in the districts of South Gujarat, Gir-somnath, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Kutch, where there are coconut tree or palm orchards. According to agriculturalists, good yields can be obtained by planting VTLCH-4 variety of cocoa plants as an intercrop between two rows of cocoa. It is also recommended to keep a distance of 3.75 meters between the two plants. However, the suitable coco location in coconut plantations in Kerala is 3 m 7.5 m. 614 seedlings can be planted per hectare. Cocoa gardens are always under shade and they are grown among tall trees. In India, fields are not grown alone. It cannot be cultivated without the shade of another tree. Thus, after Navsari Agricultural University recommended cocoa cultivation after practice and experimentation in fields, it can now be produced in Gujarat. At present, extensive cultivation is not done anywhere in Gujarat. 40-50 percent of the sunlight is grown in the garden where it is grown. By providing symbiosis with the main crop, it provides additional income to the farmer. Coco grows in places where temperatures are between 18 and 32 bitches. It is advisable to irrigate on five days. Harvesting occurs 150–170 days after pollen. May be planted in April-June.
Beans are extracted from cocoa fruit. Its fruit is similar to papaya. Which contains 30 to 35 percent seeds. India consumes 1 lakh tonnes of cocoa. 20 thousand tons production in India. 80 thousand tons are imported. So there is every possibility of yields in Gujarat. Amul can be used in dairy chocolate.
Government of Kerala
Cocoa farming has been promoted by the Government of Kerala. Due to the large amount of hybrid and high caliber varieties available to the farmers by the Kerala government, the area and production of these crops has increased. Now, if the Gujarat government encourages farmers, good cocoa seed can be produced. But the BJP’s policy has been to keep the field worker behind. Provide good facilities to the city;s people. Cadbury – Mondelez India Foods Company started cocoa cultivation in 1965 in Vanan district of Kerala. During the year 1997–98, cocoa cultivation started in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. By 1980–81, cocoa cultivation had spread over 29000 hectares of land. But cocoa prices fell sharply during 1981–83. The tropical climate is ideal for cocoa production.
Use of Cocoa
Officials at Krishi Bhavan in Gandhivagar state that cocoa was known as a drink before tea or coffee. Cocoa is used worldwide to make chocolate, chocolate desserts, chocolate toffee, drinks. It is cultivated in India in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Theobroma keco L. came to India in the early 20th century from an Amazon base in South America. Till now the horticultural crop has not been declared in India. Cocoa beans are prepared to make cocoa powder according to its quality.
The production
Cocoa production in the country was very low before 1997–98. They were then replaced by Karnataka, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Now there is hope in Gujarat. Cocoa production in India was expected to reach 20,000 tonnes in 2018-19. There are about 87 thousand to one lakh hectare fields in the country. The total production of cocoa in 2009-10 was 13 thousand tons, in 2015-16 it was 17200 tons, in 2016-17 it was 18900 tons, in 2018-19 it was 20 thousand tons, in 2016-17 the country imported cocoa 65,000 tons. 1,550 crore was spent on imports. World production was 4.6 million tonnes in 2017-18. It was 4.7 million tonnes in 2016-17.
Area, production and productivity of cocoa in India.
Plantation Area and Area Area
Area – average productivity in hectare area, production, kg / ha
State 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13
Kerala 14650 6000 785 13483 6320 750 12483 6136 537
Karnataka 12906 2000 525 11683 2142 500 10883 2080 212
Tamil Nadu 26959 1750 265 23959 1071 250 22389 1040 100
Andhra Pradesh 23485 6300 550 22210 5600 300 20710 4160 231
Total 78000 16050 475 71365 15133 450 66465 13416 268
Business
Ecuador was the world’s largest cocoa exporter in the early 20th century. Subsequently, West Africa is the world leader in cocoa production and export. It has a lot of use in internationally developed states.
Cocoa prices in india and world
Year (Rs / kg) International Price (Rs / kg)
2015 200.00 – 210.00
2014 190.00 – 215.00
2013 126.00 – 152.00
2012 127.00 – 130.00
2011 155.00 – 148.90
2010 170.00 – 142.74
Ingredients in Cocoa Beans
54% fat; 11.5% protein; 9% cellulose; 7.5% starch; 6% tannins and dyes; 5% water;
2.6% minerals and salts; 2% organic acids and flavored substances; 1% saccharides; 0.2% Caffeine.