MADRE Chocolate owner and founder from the United States (US) says there is a potential for Solomon Islands to set up a chocolate factory in the future.
Speaking in an interview with the Solomon Star yesterday Dr Nat Bletter, a chocolate maker based in Hawaii said, its possible to set up a chocolate factory if there is proper infrastructure in place.
He said, given the availability of quality cocoa beans in the country, farmers can venture into this business in the future.
He however said, the tropical climate would be a challenge when it comes to chocolate production.
“Because during tempering it would require a cool environment.
“However, if you have a good facility with the right temperature and air condition it would not be a problem during the process of production.”
Since last week about 40 cocoa growers and farmers from Guadalcanal, Malaita and Choiseul have been undergone a training on how to produce chocolate using the locally grown cocoa beans.
During the training the farmers were able to learn how to identify the best cocoa pods, how to dry it, peeling the skins out, grinding the dried beans, fermenting and tempering which saw the participants producing chocolate bars, hot chocolate and coating for banana commonly known as chocolate banana.
The one and half week training ends tomorrow.
By MOFFAT MAMU
