Cocoa, a native to the Americas, was a valuable crop in the earliest South American cultures. The term cocoa originated from the Nahuatl word “cacahuatl”, meaning “food of the gods”. Many believe that the plant first grew in the Amazon and upper Orinoco basins, but the Mayans and the Aztecs eventually developed techniques to cultivate cocoa successfully. The plant was considered as a symbol of wealth and power for these civilizations, and its beans were used as currency and in religious ceremonies. Cocoa beans are the main ingredient for making chocolate, a delicacy enjoyed by people all over the world.
Cocoa beans are produced in tropical zones around the Equator, where climate conditions are well suited for growing cocoa trees. About 70 percent of the world’s cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Ghana are by far the two largest producers of cocoa, accounting for more than 50 percent of the world´s cocoa. In 2022, the Ivory Coast alone produced approximately 2.2 million metric tons of cocoa beans. Indonesia is the only Asian country in the top 10, ranking fourth with about 600,000 metric tons of cocoa beans in 20222. Other major cocoa-producing countries include Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.
