Cocoa And Chocolate
The Tree, The Bean The Beverage

134 THE COCOA AND CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY not been neglected. Looking back over the last twenty years one sees the continuous increase in cacao produc-tion, and that during this period the world's harvest has grown to three or four times what it was in 1902. This increase is largely due to the Gold Coast. 1 he poet has written somewhere of mournful numbcrs—those concerning the Gold Coast cacao crop make cheerful reading, and the history of Accra cacao may be epitomised thus—• GOLD COAST CACAO PRODUCTION Year. Tons of Cacao. Value. 1892 1902 1912 1922 0-1 540-0 38,624'0 156,271-0 £ 4 27,280 1,642,733 5,753,478 Briefly noting the other producing areas in order of quantity, one observes that Brazil, with its Bahia and Para cacao, has now established its position as the second largest producer in the world. It has overtaken Ecuador in a neck and neck race. The Ilheos district supplies the major part of the Bahia cacao. Ecuador, third on the list, is famous for its Arriba cacao. It contains several very large estates, the Igreatest being the Caamano Tengel estate on which grow about two and a half million cacao trees. Trinidad and San Thomé have for many years been competitors for fourth place. Trinidad, the second largest producer in our Empire, has long been known for its fine and well-prepared cacao. In San Thomé is the famous Agua Isé estate, probably the largest and most efficiently organised estate in the world, which produces some 4,000 tons of cacao per annum. Nigeria, with its Lagos cacao, has madc great stride