The price of wet cocoa beans here has touched an unprecedented high of Rs. 65 a kg — perhaps for the first time in recent years — as the first cocoa harvest season has begun.
The high price recorded last for the wet beans here was in May, 2011 where it fetched Rs. 48 per kg. Meanwhile the price had touched Rs. 52 per kg in Kerala in June 2010.
Cocoa, cultivated as an inter-crop in areca nut and coconut plantations, is mainly used in the manufacture of chocolates. Cocoa beans are the primary raw material for confectioneries, beverages and other edible products.
According to Anantharamakrishna P., a prominent cocoa grower having about 3,000 cocoa plants at Peruvai near Vitla, the price is now at an all time high.
He said that many farmers lost the crop in the first harvest season (April-August) last year due to heavy rains and pods rotted. As rains continued till mid-October, flowering was delayed resulting in shortage of crop of the second season (October-December) also. This could be the reason for price going up.
Mr. Anantharamakrishna said that this time he noticed that wilting of young cocoa pods was abnormally high in the plants in his plantation.
Kudur Ramachandra, an industrialist-cum- major cocoa grower near Kadaba, attributed the hike to short supply due to heavy rains in the last two harvest seasons, which ended about three months ago.
Mr. Ramachandra said that he usually harvested 10,000 kg of wet beans annually. Due to unseasonal rains in March he could harvest only about 25 per cent of the normal production.
M. Suresh Bhandary, Managing Director, Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd. (CAMPCO), a principal purchaser of cocoa from farmers, said that the cooperative procured the wet beans at at Rs. 60 a kg till Friday.
Mr. Bhandary said that the wet beans fetched Rs. 40 a kg two months ago. The hike in price was due to short supply
He said that when compared to the last season the prices of dry cocoa beans have gone up by Rs. 20 a kg in this season. Now its price stood between Rs. 195 and Rs. 205 a kg. The annual requirement of dry beans of CAMPCO for its chocolate factory at Puttur stood at 4,500 tonnes.
