THE Chocolate Festival, an annual event organized by Cacao Industry Development Association in Mindanao (Cidami) and SM City Davao, opens Friday, October 14 to October 16 to generate more interests from Dabawenyos and farmers, themselves, on locally-made chocolates and other cacao-based products.
On its third year, Cidami executive director and chair of the newly-formed Philippine Cacao Industry Development Council, Valente Turtur, said the event is seen to provide chocolate makers and cacao farmers the platform to showcase their world-class quality products to the public, thereby, developing the cacao industry in Mindanao.
“By showcasing our chocolate products, our cacao farmers will be more interested and challenged to improve their farming activities and strive for producing quality cacao beans,” Turtur said.
Turtur added that chocolate makers are now looking for nothing but quality cacao.
Turtur said that apart from taste tests, the three-day event will feature various cacao processing and chocolate production techniques where visitors can learn and understand the industry.
“For this year, we have over 20 exhibitors who will be showcasing world-class chocolates,” Turtur said.
Of the figure, some 70 percent are Cidami members while the rest are other chocolate makers and industry players.
As Mindanao contributes some 90 percent (80 percent is from Davao Region) of the country’s total cacao production, cacao is now developed as a major brand in the island-region and has received numerous supports from the government and the private sector.
The current production volume of cacao in the country is at around 14,000 to 15,000 metric tons with some 26,000 hectares grown with cacao.
According to the harmonized comprehensive cacao industry roadmap, the industry players target to produce 100,000 metric tons in volume by 2022.