The 7th edition of the Capixaba Cocoa Almond Quality Competition chose a producer from Rio Bananal and one from Linhares as the best in Espírito Santo. And the state, nationally, is among the largest producers.
Cocoa is a fruit and the main raw material for chocolate. Data from Abicab (Brazilian Association of the Chocolate, Peanut and Candy Industry) shows that chocolate production in the country reached 511 thousand tons in 2021.
Ângela Teodorico da Silva is from Sítio Panorama, won with a score of 7.06. “This year we took better care in the way we looked after the almonds, from harvesting, fermentation to drying, which I dedicated a lot to. I am part of Mulheres do Cacau and it was this project, in partnership with several entities, that helped me achieve this result, thanks to the training, both in terms of pruning, harvesting, fermentation and drying. I am very happy with the award”, said the producer.
Edio Ramos Schimit was a winner in previous years. “I managed to improve almonds this year and I hope next year will be even better. This year I started to be more careful with almonds and technical monitoring. It’s just gratitude. My family and I worked together and got a good score”, said the producer who won the category in 2022.
The municipal secretary of Agriculture, Fabrício Fardin, pointed out that the competition comes to promote the production chain and encourage verticalization. “In Linhares, today, the second largest agricultural GDP is cocoa, which has regained its position as a strong crop, standing out among the best almonds in Brazil. The competition is an important tool to develop cocoa farming in Linhares and Espírito Santo, encouraging producers to increase the quality of all products in the production chain, not to mention developing the sustainability of cocoa farming”, commented the secretary.
The Quality Manager of the Cocoa Innovation Center (CIC), biologist and master in genetics Adriana Reis, explained that, despite the impasses due to the harvest throughout the country, which has bitter and astringent notes, due to the climate, the almonds achieved achieved a great score. “Linhares has four samples of excellence in the competition, which is very subtle and differentiates one sample from another”, she commented.
Present at the event were representatives of the state and federal governments, the municipal legislature, institutions and companies linked to the cocoa sector, and producer associations and unions in the region.
The competition is organized by the Municipality of Linhares, through the Secretariat of Agriculture, Aquaculture, Livestock and Supply and Nestlé Brasil, via the CococaPlan Program, with support from AIPC (Cargill, Olam and Barry), Faes/Senar/Sindicatos, Sebrae , Ecopower, Aquafértil, Sicoob, Banco do Nordeste and Federal Government, Kubit Café, and institutional support from Cocoation; CNQCE; CIC; Ceplac; Incaper; Acau, Apropeba, Linhares Rural Union and Rural Workers Union.
RESULT AND FINAL SCORE:
Angela Teodorico da Silva – 7.06 points
Andre Carlesso Neto – 6.81 points
Dieimes Bohry – 6.79 points
Leandro Giacomin Carlesso – 6.73 points
Lucia Helena Rodrigues Perini – 6.66 points
