COMPETITIVENESS OF COCOA PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Trinidad and Tobago produces a fine flavour cocoa that attracts a premium price on the international market. The country has a long and distinguished record in agronomy and production of cocoa and is home to the Cocoa Research Unit, which attracts international notice and funding. However, cocoa production has been on a steady decline over the past few decades. The objective of this study is to assess the competitiveness and comparative advantage of cocoa production in Trinidad and Tobago and to understand the reasons for decline in output within the context of competitiveness. The analyses were conducted over three cocoa production systems – small farm traditional, large farm traditional, and large farm intensive cultivation. The methodology involved data collection and use of the framework of the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to assess competitiveness and comparative advantage. The results indicate that all production systems are profitable, internationally competitive and have comparative advantage. However, the traditional small-farm production system has the least profitability, competitiveness and comparative advantage. The results suggest that the low levels of profitability per hectare for the small farms may underlie the declining area and output.