Tap into cocoa potential

What you need to know:

  • Currently, cocoa is ranked the third crop export earner after coffee and tea yet the crop doesn’t recieve any significant funding like the two above crops.

Uganda has the potential to export more cocoa but it must be in larger volumes. The market potential in this sector remains untapped as produce does not meet market demand.

Currently, cocoa is ranked the third crop export earner after coffee and tea yet the crop doesn’t recieve any significant funding like the two above crops.

Dr Pavlos Troulis, the country director of Swisscontact, said there is a significant demand for cocoa globally and in particular Uganda’s cocoa has a very unique flavour and is in high demand. 

For Uganda to get involved in commercial cocoa production, it would have to produce 100,000 metric tonnes a year. But that is not possible yet.

Dr Pavlos Troulis, the country director of Swisscontact, said there is a significant demand for cocoa globally and in particular Uganda’s cocoa has a very unique flavour which is of great demand. 

“We have to improve productivity, increase production and certify significant volumes of cocoa. At the same time, we need enterprises to be much more entrepreneurial, take more risks and build their competence even more than they have done,”Dr Troulis says.

According to Mr Alex Lwakuba, the Commissioner Crop Production Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Uganda has been producing 41,282 metric tonnes of cocoa beans and has earned $ 99.7m (Shs355b) as of December 31, 2020.

For a country to dive into commercial cocoa processing, it would need at least 100,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans. However, the country is currently producing far less than what is needed to attract commercial and large-scale cocoa processing.

Mr Lwakuba advises cocoa farmers to start with a small scale of cocoa processing as they increase the production of cocoa beans.

“We have been stopping at the direct monetary value. But there are other benefits associated with growing cocoa where in a year, a farmer can make about Shs7.5m. But if we add value like making livestock feed, you will value the employment and environment, since it is an agroforestry plant you are exposed to the total economic benefits of cocoa,” Mr Lwakuba says.

Exporting raw cocoa

Mr Lwakuba notes the market is now yearning for natural cocoa products, especially in the cosmetics industry. This explains why countries like Ghana have gone into full scale value addition. But 98 per cent of what Uganda produces has been sold raw.

INVEST IN COCOA      

Uganda also needs a National Cocoa Development Strategy to develope this sector fully and compete with the giant Ivory Coast and fetch the country the much needed foreign exchange.

The market is now yearning for natural cocoa products, especially in the cosmetics industry. This explains why countries like Ghana have gone into full scale value addition. But 98 per cent of what Uganda produces has been sold raw.