Balamban town now eyed as prime supplier of cacao

CEBU, Philippines – The town of Balamban in Cebu is now being eyed as prime supplier of quality cacao beans locally and globally.

It is for this reason the first Cacao Summit was held in Balamban last Friday by the municipal government, Department of Agriculture (DA) and other industry players.

One of those taking the lead in developing Balamban's cacao industry is Raquel Choa, a native from the town and deemed as the "Chocolate Queen of Cebu". She is the president of Ralfe Gourmet, a chocolate company based in Cebu she founded.

Choa, the woman behind Cebu's most artisanal chocolate destinations, namely Ralfe Gourmet, The Chocolate Chamber (TCC) and Casa de Cacao, has expressed hopes for the growth of the Philippines' cacao and chocolate-making industries.

Choa, in an interview with The FREEMAN at the summit, said she wants more farmers to plant cacao trees to help the local cacao industry's development. The summit gathered over 200 farmers in the town who have committed to join the advocacy.

Choa, who grew up in a remote area in the town of Balamban growing cacao trees, pointed out the Philippines is still not identified as a major cacao grower in the world market amid its abundance in various parts of the country.

Choa's advocacy also led her to co-found the non-governmental organization Cacao de Filipinas Association (CFA), which works to support the livelihood of Filipino cacao farmers.

The Cebuana entrepreneur said the more cacao growers, the faster the country can develop its chocolate industry and become a potential source of cacao in both local and world markets. Cacao, also known as cocoa, is the main raw material used in making chocolate.

Choa shared the Philippines was the first Asian nation to grow cacao trees after they were brought here from Mexico in 1670. A few years later, cacao seeds were distributed for planting. From then on, cacao spread in abundance in the country.

Cebu, she noted, has a rich chocolate-making tradition as it became known for tablea, a Filipino local chocolate made from dried, cleaned and roasted cacao beans.

She cited that Balamban in particular has so much potential in cacao farming, recalling that it is where she started her humble beginnings as a cacao farmer until she unexpectedly became one of the country's renowned tablea maker and chocolatier today.

In a separate interview, Balamban Mayor Ace Stefan Binghay said the DA had already given 25,000 of cacao seeds for distribution to different farmer groups in the town.

"We are going to request additional seeds from DA," Binghay said.

The town mayor shared that Balamban has long been producing cacao beans which are usually made into tablea.

Choa shares her advocacy of making Filipinos known as excellent chocolate makers internationally. As a step to achieve that, Choa now plans to export the products of TCC, her novelty restaurant serving artisanal chocolate creations and chocolate-infused food, in select countries.

But Choa does not want to export products alone but the whole story of her company and the tablea-making in the Philippines. (FREEMAN)