Importance

Though cocoa has been known as the beverage crop even before tea or coffee, it is relatively a new crop in India. Cocoa being primarily an item of confectionery industries is the produce of Cacao plant mostly grown as a companion crop interspersed within the irrigated Coconut and /or Arecanut gardens. Even though Cocoa comes under the definition of plantation crops pure plantation of cocoa as such is absent in India. The commercial cultivation of cocoa however commenced from 1960’s only.
Various Cocoa products are confectionery in nature and consumable with palatable ness. Internationally it is an item largely consumed in developed countries. India has gained a foreign exchange of nearly Rs. 9.00 crores in 1995-96 and Rs. 6.00 crores in 1996-97 by way of export of cocoa beans and its products from India. At present the global production and consumption of cocoa is around 27.00 lakh MT, compared to this, India’s production is meager i.e. 10,000 MT.
Early sixties : Introduced to India for commercial cultivation
• > 1965 : Commercial cultivation of cocoa
• 1970’s : Large scale cultivation of cocoa