Speaking at the sidelines of Davao City’s celebration of the World Chocolate Day on July 7, Lizabel Holganza, a member of the Davao City Cacao Industry Council and a chocolate producer says the 3-day chocolate fair held at Abreeza Mall aims to put Davao’s chocolates in the mainstream.
“For this 2023 celebration of World Chocolate Day we gathered 12 of our chocolatiers. These chocolatiers have very fine chocolate beans and high-quality chocolate products that we like to bring the attention of the Dabawenyo, because mababa ang per capita consumption ng ating sikwate and tableya. By way of this three-day exhibition, trade fair and chocolate tasting ma-propromote natin ang ating mga produkto.,” Holganza said.
She hopes that the events would develop more chocolate champions not just from the industry but also champions from the consumer side that will help promote the products.
“We’ve been declared as the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines because number one reason we produced the most amount of cacao beans and number two we have a growing number of chocolate processors. These sectors are contributing significantly revenues to Davao City thru the produce that we sell and the value-adding of these products,” Holganza said.
Republic Act 115471 signed in 2021 by then President Rodrigo Duterte declared Davao City as “Chocolate Capital of the Philippines” and Davao Region as “Cacao Capital of the Philippines”.
The region’s share in the country’s annual production of cacao is massive chunk of 78.6% while Dabawenyo chocolatiers are acclaimed internationally.
Davao City-based Malagos Chocolates have received 56 international awards. While another Davao City chocolatier Auro Chocolates won five gold awards including “Best in Competition” and “Overall Winner” in the 2020 International Chocolate Awards (ICA) Asia-Pacific competition held in Taiwan. It also won several awards in the 2019 International Chocolate Awards.
Holganza they are stimulating domestic demand for Davao chocolates as the Philippines are still net importers of cacao getting stocks from Indonesia as cacao production in the country is still low.
“Apart from promoting per capita consumption, we are propagating and promoting increase in production, expansion of growing farms. Kulang na kulang pa ang ating supply,” Holganza said.
Currently Davao is producing 12,000 metric tons of cacao or 80% of the country’s total production of 15,000 metric tons annually. The Philippine demand for cacao is around 50,000 metric tons.
Holganza said Davao City LGU is eyeing 8,000 hectares for added plantation sites for cacao. Currently 6,000 hectares in Davao City is planted to cacao.
“With that 8,000 hectares, if you plant 600 to 800 trees per hectare if you multiply that would be 164,000 trees,” Holganza said.
Chef-educator Jill Sandique said the country has great potentials in producing good quality chocolates as the genetic stock of the cacao trees are criollo.
“When cross bred with other cacao basically, ang pinaka-marami sa atin Trinitario which is a fine cacao, of course kelangan natin ng proper post-harvest processes like fermentation,” Sandique, one of the country’s chocolate experts said.
She added that cacao in the Philippines has very low levels of Cadium in their chocolates as compared to Latin American countries with high levels of Cadium, a toxic heavy metal.
“If we do our act together both the private and public sector, Malaki ang potential natin because of what we have,” Sandique said.
She added that most of the local chocolates are expensive than imported one because they are made from fine cacao.
“Fine cacao dapat ang genetic stock niya is good ang then maganda ang processing… there is a lot of effort that goest into it. That is why it is called fine cacao and it creates a premium because of its high quality,” Sandique said.
Holganza said the export market for Davao cacao and chocolates is small and are niche markets for top brands which uses fine Davao cacao. That is why there is a need for expansion.
Aside from chocolates
Apart from cacao production, farmers earn thru farm tourism where plantations are opened to tourists.
Foremost among these farm tourism sites is the Malagos Garden Resort where the famed Chocolate Museum is located. The resort is adjacent to the Malagos farm where cacaos are grown and the beans processed.
Inside the Chocolate Museum, visitors can will have an immersive cacao tourism experience that include the Tree-To-Bar guided tour of the museum, farm, and its facilities inside the resort.
“We have a beautiful story to share about our cacao and that is the focus of our cacao farmers as it is an immersive and experiential tour and top of that it provides the farmers additional revenue,” Holganza said who owns Gran Verde Farm another farm tourism destination in Davao City.
Under the Regional Tourism Development Plan of the Department of Tourism-XI,cacao farms under farm tourism forms part of the thematic tourism destinations in the region. (PIA/RG Alama)