The Quality Dilemma: Valorization of Cocoa from Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

The current landscape of cocoa farming in Mexico leaves small producers facing fundamental challenges. This article aims to present the case of the producers´ cooperative Rayen in the Soconusco region. Their effort to regain their place on the map of cocoa production, not only in Mexico, but in the world and claim the quality of cocoa produced in this region, places them within a tidal wave of demands. Producers are faced with the great dilemma of quality since 1) they bet on the fine and flavor cocoa market, while 2) they are oriented to reorganize their production practices to be certified as producers of environmentally sustainable cocoa. What is at stake is to achieve a quality for specific market niches. The analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with the actors involved in the cocoa value chain and tours on plots in the study area. It is concluded that producers may be conditioned to stop producing cocoa of a quality that expresses their territorial specificity for producing cocoa of a lower quality, holding a seal of environmentally sustainable production.