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Forteza Caribbean Chocolate to boost cocoa harvests to produce fine chocolate in PR

Forteza
Caribbean Chocolate announced the implementation of a plan to produce and
distribute among local farmers some 12,000 high-performance cocoa trees through
2020, with the support of the Puerto Rico Agriculture Department and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.

The
company said the addition of the new trees should lead to the creation of 100
to 200 new direct and indirect jobs. Currently, Forteza’s operations generate
15 direct and 50 indirect jobs in Puerto Rico’s agriculture sector.

The
distribution of these trees will serve to increase the supply of cocoa grown in
Puerto Rico for the company, as well as its production of fine chocolate. Some
4,000 trees will be distributed on a quarterly basis, starting in April.

The
inventory consists of grafts of 10 of the most productive and better varieties
from the USDA Tropical Agricultural Research Station in Mayagüez.

“We’re
confident that, as a result of this project, we will be able to dramatically
increase our purchases of cocoa from Puerto Rico, as well as chocolate production,”
said Eduardo Cortés vice president and founder of the Forteza Caribbean Chocolate
brand belonging to Cortés Hermanos.

“We’ve learned a lot after our previous effort of distributing
10,000 trees in 2014, with which we were able to lay the foundations to develop
a local cocoa industry and ensure the supply of raw material so that we could
create a 100 percent chocolate from Puerto Rico,” he said.

Cortés
explained that in this second stage of the project the company is looking for a
higher production yield in the long term, since the farmers now have more
experience with cocoa cultivation.

It is
expected that the current cocoa production will double after the distribution
of the new trees has been completed. Moreover, Cortés predicted that with these
new trees it will be possible to triple the brand’s cocoa supplies in a period
of three to four years.

The
productivity of the cocoa trees increases each year until reaching its peak
after the fourth year of development. In this sense, the trees that were
previously distributed have not yet reached their maximum performance, since
they are only in their third year of production and their development was
delayed due to the impact of Hurricane María.

According
to the company’s projections, with the new distribution, cocoa production could
reach 10,000 pounds per year by 2021.

“Although
these projections are dependent on external factors, we’re confident in the
ability of farmers to produce as they have previously experienced the process
and mastered it,” said Cortés.

“We’re
certain that this round of trees will produce substantial results in terms of
the growth of production and the local industry,” said Cortés.

Forteza’s
current suppliers will have priority when it comes to the distribution of
trees. The remaining trees will be made available to other bona-fide farmers
interested in supplying cocoa to the company.

“We
want to expand the base of suppliers that have experience and can commit to
supplying cocoa for Forteza,” Cortés said.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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