The Government plans to strengthen the national cocoa sector

Ecuadornews:

Reduce production costs and improve cocoa productivity are the objectives of the Competitive Improvement Plan for Cocoa and Derivatives, which was presented on Monday, June 17, 2019 by the National Government.

The event was held at the Experimental Station Litoral Sur del Iniap, located in the Virgen de Fátima parish (Yaguachi), and was attended by the President, Lenin Moreno, Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner, the Minister of Agriculture, Xavier Lazo, the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Ecuador, Marianne Van Steen, other authorities and actors of the cocoa chain.

Lazo indicated that through the initiative the change of the productive matrix will be promoted with a view, by 2030, to maintain 120,000 jobs in the producing sector, increase 12,000 jobs in the agroindustrial sector, double exports both in grain, and processed and semi-finished products.

“The project of the program has an investment of over $ 600 million, which will come from both the public and private sectors,” said Lazo. During the ceremony, President Moreno signed the executive decree, which brings this plan of cocoa competitiveness to public policy and thus generate more sources of employment, increase productivity and position cocoa and its derivatives in the external market.

In 2018, exports from the cocoa sector represented around $ 760 million, of which $ 6 million come from chocolate sales. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/moreno-acuerdonacional-cacao-chocolate