DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 9 January) – A high-end Japanese chocolate company has signified interest in putting up a chocolate manufacturing facility in the city, Davao City Investment Promotions Center head Lemuel Ortonio said.
Ortonio told reporters on Tuesday that representatives of the Japanese company had already presented a feasibility study to city officials last year.
The investment official said the company is “80-percent” convinced and hopeful they can firm up their decision within the year, as this will help local cacao farmers market their beans in the international market.
He said the company wanted to locate in the city’s 3rd District where most of the cacao farmers are.
He added the company has been sourcing sources of cacao beans that can be processed into chocolate bars for their market in Japan.
The Davao Region accounts for 81 percent of the country’s total cacao production.
On June 9, 2017, the Regional Development Council 11 passed a resolution adopting the recommendation of its economic development committee to recognize the region as the cacao and chocolate capital of the Philippines.
The resolution noted that cacao production in the region has been on a constant rise since 2010 with an average growth of at least six percent annually from 2010 to 2016, making it the center of the cacao trade in the country.
It also highlighted the 20,000 farmers who have benefited from the opportunities offered by the cacao industry.
The region has over 100 chocolate processors, most of whom have developed a chocolate variety using coco sugar.