Overseas Property Investment

Cacao – the “bean” behind chocolate – is native to the Western Hemisphere. (Pronounced “ka-kow,” it is often referred to as cocoa in the United States.) It originated in the Amazon basin and was domesticated throughout northern South America and Central America. Unlike Central America’s big cash crop, bananas, the native cacao plant thrives in shade. This means that chocolate farms are often characterized by a variety of plants and trees; a boon to animals looking for varied habitat.

According to the International Cocoa Organization, cacao was Costa Rica’s most important commercial crop between 1940 and 1970. Statistics from the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization show that Costa Rica exported more than 10,000 metric tons of beans per year In the early 1960s, making our nation one of the world’s leading suppliers at the time.

A blight that struck soon after the boom of the 60s, coupled with the rampant deforestation that reached its peak in the 70s, nearly destroyed cacao production in Costa Rica. In 1999, only 130 metric tons of cacao was exported.

Today, a new trend in the US is helping increase the demand for the raw ingredient in chocolate. A July 16 article in the LA Times, “Chocolate Makers Focus on the Technology of Making Better Chocolate,” describes how boutique chocolatiers across the nation are creating their confections starting with the raw bean, rather than purchasing processed ingredients.

“There’s more interest in chocolate and there’s high enough prices for chocolate to make it feasible to have a small company,” says Steve DeVries of DeVries Chocolate in Denver. This means more interest – and potential profit – in developing cacao farms. Add to this Costa Rica’s Payments for Environmental Services program for overstory reforestation initiatives, and investors can enjoy not only potentially high returns, but also the satisfaction of supporting an environmentally friendly production alternative.