The 2021 Philippine Cacao Quality Award (PCQA) announced its winners who will be given the chance to showcase the quality of their produce in the international arena when they represent Filipino cacao in the International Cocoa Awards (ICA) in October 2021 at Salon du Chocolat in Paris.
2021 PCQA Organization Committee Chairman Charita Puentespina said the competition seeks to increase the awareness on the cocoa value chain in the country and the opportunity to produce high-quality cocoa.
She said,
By showcasing not just the best practices of our cacao farmers but the quality of their produce in the international arena, it will create market linkages which will open more market doors and vast opportunities for our cacao farmers.
The Covid pandemic has caused setbacks in the economic growth and industry development of the country. Despite the challenges faced, the Philippine Cacao Industry Council continued its commitment to move toward a prosperous cacao industry promoting inclusion and convergence among industry stakeholders.
At the start of 2021, the Philippine Cacao Industry Council led by chairperson Consul Armi Lopez Garcia is set to submit the country’s entries for the Cocoa of Excellence Programme and International Cocoa Awards, a global competition participated by 55 countries across the world.
The Cocoa of Excellence Programme was established to safeguard cocoa flavour diversity and improve farmers’ livelihoods through the promotion of high quality cocoa origins.
In October 2020, the Philippine Cacao Industry Council launched the 2021 Edition of the Philippine Cacao Quality Award (PCQA), a national cacao quality competition to promote high-quality cacao beans and celebrate the skills and expertise of Filipino cacao farmers.
In the competition, 23 entries from producing regions competed.
Cacao experts evaluated the aroma, external appearance, fissuring and color of the cacao beans on the first phase of the PCQA, while a group of chocolatiers evaluated the second and final judging.
Following the selection and evaluation of the PCQA-Technical Working Committee chaired by Charita Puentespina, Garcia officially announced the winners of the Philippine Cacao Quality Award Competition.
The Best Cacao Beans for the 2021 Edition of Philippine Cacao Quality Competition, in no particular order, are as follows:
Garcia said,
To prepare for the next competition come 2023, the Philippine Cacao Industry Council in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and the other government agencies concerned, will endeavor to intensively educate our cacao farmers on the Good Agricultural Practices as well as on the Post- Harvest Technologies so that we can generate more entries to choose from to improve our chances of winning.
The Cocoa of Excellence Programme is the entry point for cocoa producers to participate in the International Cocoa Awards, the global competition that recognises the work of cocoa farmers and celebrates the quality and flavor diversity of cocoas produced around the world.
The awarding ceremony will take place at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris on October 2021, one of the biggest international annual trade fairs for the cocoa and chocolate industry.
