VOA Special English
Trend in Brazil’s Cocoa Industry: GI Labels

    2020/1/4

    Brazilian cocoa growers are learning lessons from French wine makers.

    Like producers of wine from France’s Champagne area, Brazil’s chocolate industry is using geographical indication, or GI labels with good results. These labels show where the cocoa comes from and its quality. The special labels can lead to higher prices on the market.

    Brazilian Altiele Carvalho dos Santos, 32, and Gloria de Jesus Santos, 36, sort cocoa beans at the Altamira farm in Itajuipe, Bahia state, Brazil, Dec. 13, 2019.
    Brazilian Altiele Carvalho dos Santos, 32, and Gloria de Jesus Santos, 36, sort cocoa beans at the Altamira farm in Itajuipe, Bahia state, Brazil, Dec. 13, 2019.

    Henrique Almeida is the 63-year-old owner of a farm in Coaraci, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. He is pleased with the "South Bahia" geographical indication for his cocoa.

    "The production of fine cocoa and the creation of the geographical indication label make it possible to have a profitable business and pull our region upwards," Almeida said.

    For many years, farmers in Bahia had produced common cocoa, used widely in the chocolate industry.

    But in 1989, an outbreak of "witches' broom" disease sharply reduced the productivity of Bahia's cocoa trees. These trees make up to 86 percent of Brazil’s national crop.

    At the time, Almeida, like other producers in southern Bahia, chose to improve the quality of his crop in order to be able to continue growing.

    "When I bought the farm, standard cocoa prices were low, and cocoa farmers were unmotivated, while the chocolate market was doing well," he told the French news agency AFP. "I started growing fine cocoa to make my own chocolate and add value to my product."

    The label is the result of 10 years of work by Almeida and other cocoa producers, as well as cooperatives and researchers. Together, they created the South Bahia Cocoa Association to define production rules. The National Institute of Industrial Property registered the GI in 2018 to make the label official.

    The “South Bahia” label is the second GI given to Brazilian cocoa. The Linhares region in the state of Espirito Santo was the first GI to be registered in 2012. Tome-Acu in the northeastern state of Pará became the third in 2019.

    I'm John Russell.

    Agence France-Presse reported on this story. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

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    Words in This Story

    indication – n. something (such as a sign or signal) that points out or shows something

    label - n. a name shown on a product that gives information about the company, or person who sold, produced, or designed it

    region – n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

    productivity -- n. the rate at which goods are produced or work is completed

    standard – adj. regularly and widely used, seen, or accepted : not unusual or special

    unmotivated -- adj. having no desire to do or succeed at something, not motivated

    register -- v. to record information about (something) in a book or system of public records

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