Cuba seeks to revive the chocolate production of Baracoathe area par excellence for the cultivation and processing of cocoa on the island, with a new mixed company.
The entity, appointed Baracocoa SA, was officially constituted on Tuesday from the alliance between the food and beverage companies SA (Alimcor SA), of Cuba, and Proxenta, of Slovakia.
The same is intended to “process, produce and market chocolates throughout the range of assortments”, a “currently very depressed” production in Baracoa, he recognizes A report of the newspaper Granma.
According to Dariel Lamadrid, representative of Alimcor SA, the mixed company will have its headquarters logically in Baracoa and intends to “satisfy with around 7 thousand tons of cocoa the demand of the national industry, which will result in the production of mixtures, pasta, chocolates, both for Cuba and for the international market”.
In addition, as part of the financing of the entity, “technological modernization with renewable energy sources is planned, as well as the acquisition of transferable means of transport for the efficient distribution of products,” he added.
Baracoa and Cocoa: The MSMEs took the baton with the paralysis of the state factory
Pointing to producers and communities
For his part, Javier Francisco Aguiar Rodríguez, Deputy Minister of the Food Industry, considered that this association, based on direct work with the producers, is “a bridge that combines cultures, knowledge and markets between the two countries”.
It, he said, “will promote the development of primary cocoa production in Baracoa, and create value jobs, benefiting both parties, and the communities to which the company is linked.”
In this regard, Pavol Kozik, general director of Proxenta, said that for an effective operation of Baracocoa SA it is necessary to strengthen cocoa plantations and, with it, “contribute to the sustainable growth of the community of producers” in the Guantanamero municipality.
Baracoa, considered the chocolate heart of Cuba, has seen its cocoa production in recent years due to a combination of factors that range from the impact of the economic crisis and emigration, to the effects of natural phenomena such as Hurricane Matthew and poor management and state planning.
In this context, the problems in the modernization and starting again of the state factory derived from cocoa, paralyzed for several years, led to an accumulation that began to take advantage of MSMEs approved for that activity and a consequent change in the dynamics of chocolate production, its costs and prices.
Now, with the new mixed company, it remains to be seen how that scenario will be reconfigured and how much in practice it could reimprorate a work that is, in addition to its economic impact, it is also part of Baracoa’s history and identity.
