Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is a native of the Amazon region of South America. Cocoa was introduced to India as a commercial crop in the 1960s by the Cadbury chocolate company. At present, the global production of cocoa is around 3,000 lakh MT. Compared to this, India’s production is only 15,000 MT, although the consumption is over 50,000 MT. Currently, cocoa is cultivated in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu. Cocoa plant is mostly grown as a companion crop, interspersed within the irrigated coconut and areca nut gardens. Distributed rainfall of about 2,000 mm, supplemented with irrigation during summer, and temperature ranging between 20 and 30 degrees C is ideal for this crop.

Cocoa is grown on a wide range of soil types. It is propagated through seeds or the vegetative method. About 250 plants per acre are recommended. Cocoa trees are very sensitive to moisture. The first crop may be obtained towards the end of the third year. A canopy will be formed at about 5 ft height, convenient for harvesting and other operations. Pruning is an important, continuous operation for cocoa plants. Harvesting involves removing the ripe pods from the trees and opening them to extract the wet beans. The curing process involves fermentation, followed by drying, which takes about seven days. Later, it is processed into cocoa butter, cocoa powder, cocoa liquor etc. Various cocoa products are confectionery in nature and are consumable.