“There is good cocoa, apart from fine, and the world must know it”

Ecuadornews:

Jean Paul Burrus, president of the Salpa group, supports the construction of the chocolate museum in Guayaquil. In one of its rooms he will present about the cocoa industry. For this he will bring an old machine to make chocolate. He also carries the flag to promote cocoa ccn 51 in the world.

The company you have in Ecuador is no longer called Salpa. What is the new name?

Yes,this year we changed the name to Ecuador colat. In this process we were helped by prominent lawyers of an internationally renowned firm.

Why was the change made?

To have a name more attached to chocolate and Ecuador.

How many years have you been investing in Ecuador?

Since 2014. We have two lands, they are about 600 hectares.

Where else do yoy have investments, apart from Europe?

Only in Ecuador, because this country has one of the best cocoas. My wife has made her own investment here, this year she opened the store Gourmandises by Ives Thuriès, a store that sells sweets, breads, chocolate, etc. It is located in the Alhambra shopping center, on the road to Samborondón.

Ecuador ranks third in the world in the sale of cocoa. What position can you reach?

They could be the first, but for that they should leave other crops. Ecuador sells 300,000 tons; while the destination that has the first place, Côte d’Ivoire,sells 1’800,000 tons.

You have developed a different fermentation of cocoa, to highlight its flavor.

It has been working since 2014 in fermentation and drying, to have a good product without much acidity.

What investments do you plan to make in 2019?

We will expand the space in the post-harvest plant to export. Then, if there is a good proposal in cocoa production, we can study the option of making a new investment.

You invite other European businessmen to come to know Ecuador. Why do you do this?

It is a way to promote Ecuadorian cocoa, especially ccn 51, which still has bad reference abroad. It is necessary to promote the national cocoa, of fine aroma;but also the ccn 51.

Why does Ccn 51 have a bad reputation in the world?

It seems that several of the cultivators of this variety did not take much care,in the past, in the post-harvest work. They mixed the good cocoa with the bad one. That’s why the first thing we did when we arrived in Ecuador was to improve the post-harvest process. Now it has been achieved, but it needs to bet old to the world.

Then why did you decide to work with cocoa 51 and not with the national or fines cent?

We have planted 35 hectares of national cocoa. But when we arrived in Ecuador for sale there were lands that had ccn 51, which is of good quality having a highly technical fermentation and drying process.

What else are you doing to promote cacao ccn 51?

In Europe I have a network of about 70 stores and there I am also promoting it. We tell clients that we have plantations in Ecuador and with that cocoa we make chocolate.

What do the European businessmen that you bring to the country tell you after the visit?

They are delighted with the quality of the cocoa and appreciate that there is a good work environment, there are no children working on the lands. This is because Europeans appreciate companies that comply with social, labor and ecology laws.Then they tell others about the experience.

The context

Since 2014 he invests in Ecuador in the cocoa sector. In Europe, he has a plant that produces chocolates, businesses for the sale of coffee, tea, haciendas, stores,etc. His family has been working with chocolate for 110 years. In Ecuador, he employs 160 people. (I)

Source: https://www.expreso.ec/economia/cacao-chocolate-produccion-jeanpaulburrus-entrevista-ED2511776