Brazil Cocoa Origin Focus - Part 1

Brazil Cocoa Sector – At A Glance 

• Avg. Annual Production: 250 MMT (10-year average). 

• Key Regions: Bahia and Pará (over 95% of national output). 

• Harvest Seasons: Bahia: Main crop May–Sep, inter-crop Nov–Jan; Pará: Oct–Jan. 

• Harvesting: Mostly manual, low mechanization; pods cut with knives/machetes. 

• Farm Structure: 95,000+ farmers, ~80% small/medium-scale; large farms ~20–30%.  

• Farming Systems: Bahia’s “cabruca” grows cocoa under native forest shade; Pará uses agroforestry intercropped with fruits or timber. 

Why Brazil Matters in the Global Cocoa Market 

Brazil has a long legacy in the cocoa trade, and although it no longer possesses the relevance it once had, its role as a historical cocoa producer, consumer and developer still makes the country an essential origin to understand.  

Brazil was once the global top cocoa grower, responsible for over 25% of all global production in the 1920s. Even after the loss of such positions to Ivory Coast, it still had the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, when its annual output peaked around 400–430 thousand tons. Focused mainly on Bahia, the country’s cycles of cocoa boom created great wealth (“cocoa colonels”) and made Brazil a key exporter in the international market. 

Today, Brazil’s role is much smaller. Following a 1990s collapse, it fell to the 7th largest producer globally, responsible for roughly 4–6% of world output. This is modest compared to West Africa – for perspective, Brazil produces in a year what top producer Côte d’Ivoire produces in about 6–8 weeks.  

That said, Brazil’s importance is not limited to its total volume but also accounts for its singular market position: unlike most origin countries, Brazil is both a producer and a major consumer/processor of cocoa. It is one of the few origins with a fully internal cocoa–chocolate supply chain.

As such, nearly all beans produced in Brazil are absorbed by domestic grinders and chocolate manufacturers, and the country still imports additional cocoa each year to meet its processing demand. In fact, Brazilian industry has an installed grinding capacity of ~275k tons but often processes >300k, requiring imports on the order of 50–70k tons annually to cover the shortfall. 

[Get our Premium Cocoa Reports for in-depth market analysis and exclusive insights. Subscribe today!]

Subscribe now

This dynamic means Brazil plays a dual role: it is not a major cocoa exporter currently, but it impacts global demand as a sizable importer of West African cocoa. For international traders, Brazilian production matters because if Brazil’s crops falter, its import needs rise, potentially tightening availability of African cocoa for other buyers. Conversely, if Brazil’s output grows (as recent trends indicate), it could reduce its imports or even re-emerge as an exporter, subtly easing global demand pressure. 

Beyond its total production or its hunger for cocoa, though, Brazil’s importance for the cocoa market lies in its historical significance. The South American nation is the tale of how a global super potence was reduced to the role of a minor player in only a few decades. 

In 2024, the current two main cocoa producers, Ivory Coast and Ghana, suffered maybe the worst cocoa shortage in their history. Today, it is still too soon to say if the drop represents a singular event or is part of a larger process of decline that could reshape the entire cocoa landscape. Either way, the history of Brazil could provide us with keen insight to understand how the global dynamics can change, the reasons behind it, and the consequences for individual countries as well as the entire world. 

Introduction of Cocoa in Brazil 

Cocoa is not a native plant from Brazil, although it is relatively close. It came from the Amazon Basin, specifically where it would be today the countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. Although wild cacao trees have moved with indigenous tribes, growing in Brazil for millennia, cultivated cocoa first took hold in Brazil’s northeast, when a French explorer send seeds to farmers to the state of Bahia. 

Through the late 18th and 19th century, cocoa gradually expanded in Bahia’s hot, humid Atlantic forests. Eventually, it started to compete with the original producing regions, such as Amazonas and Pará, and by the 1890s Bahia surged ahead as plantations spread and Brazil entered its first cacao boom. 

[Want to know what’s really happening in the cocoa market? Our Premium Reports give you the insights you need to stay ahead. Sign up now and trade smarter!]

Sign me up

First Cocoa Boom 

The Bahia cocoa boom (late 1800s to early 1900s) completely changed the local economy, turning towns like Ilhéus into prosperous export centers. By 1895, southern Bahia was exporting on the order of hundreds of thousands of arrobas of cocoa. The continuous growth propelled Brazil’s production as whole, allowing the country to become the world's biggest producer in 1901, with the country producing over 20,000 MMT.  

However, such fortune was short-lived, and the dominance began to wane in the early 20th century as West African cocoa (Ghana, Nigeria, etc., spurred by British and French colonial plantations) flooded the market. Although Brazil’s own production increased considerably (it came to surpass 100,000 MMT in 1935), the rate was not nearly enough to compete with the other nations.  

Second Cocoa Boom 

By the end of the 1920s, Brazil faced increased competition and periodic oversupply crises. The instability, along with the impacts of the 1929 financial crisis, led the government to intervene in 1931, creating the Bahia Institute of Cocoa (ICB).  

[Gain exclusive access to expert insights and forecasts. Subscribe now and stay informed!]

Premium Research

The institution’s goal was to stabilize prices, subsidy farmers, support the beans transport and guarantee routes to the international markets, as well as establish research and extension programs. The idea was that these incentives counterbalanced to lower global prices that resulted from the rising West African production. 

The plan worked, ushering a “second cycle” of production growth mid-century. When the boom reached its apex, in 1940, cocoa production had doubled against what was seen 20 years prior, its culture once again consolidated in Brazil and the state of Bahia, especially. The development of the cocoa sector also turned it into an essential aspect of the country’s economy. Throughout the 1950s, cocoa international sales produced over $100 million in revenue, making it Brazil’s second largest export. 

Decline of the Second Cycle 

Of course, the destiny of cocoa in Brazil could not be so swift. As time advanced, the favorable landscape that allowed the second boom started to deteriorate. In 1941, the ICB was turned into a state autarchy.  

This change dramatically reduced the institution’s funding, since it was no longer supported by the federal government, and made it more susceptible to local interference, in a period when Brazil’s politics was dominated by oligarchy families commonly known as “colonels”. As a result, the ICB lost much of its ability to support farmers and its role as regulator lost credibility, causing Bahia’s cocoa production to basically stagnate for twenty years. 

The other nations did not stand idle while Brazil faced its own internal struggles, though. As local production stagnated, West African countries, in especial Ivory Coast and Ghana, continued to increase their planting areas and develop their cocoa farms, boosting the total crop exponentially. 

The continuous increase in supply strained prices, diminishing the profit rates of cocoa farmers and reducing the incentives for production. The unfavorable scenario led many farmers to believe this would be the ruin of Brazilian’s cocoa economy. For now, at least, they were wrong. 

[Our Premium Cocoa Reports give you the latest market insights, helping you make smarter trading decisions. Sign up now!]

Grab my premium reports

Third Cocoa Boom 

In response to the decline of the cocoa sector, the federal government decided it was time to interfere directly in the sector, instead of leaving it to the state. In 1957, it established CEPLAC (Executive Plan for Cocoa Farming) to lead national cocoa development and manage international trade. 

The Bahia Cocoa farmers resisted the federal intervention, seeing ICB as the legitimate source of authority to the sector. In response, the government reinforced CEPLAC's commanding role by creating an exchange retention fee, allowing the institution to consolidate itself with a stable source of income and body of employees. 

Despite the tension, the coming years proved very successful for Bahia cocoa sector. Through the 1960s–70s, CEPLAC introduced new varieties and farming techniques, including promoting cocoa planting in new regions (notably the Amazon basin). These efforts paid off in the 1970s and 1980s: Brazil’s production climbed again, reaching an apex in the 1980s. By 1986–1989, Brazil was harvesting roughly 350–400 thousand tons annually, taking the role of the global second largest cocoa producer. 

Once again, the Brazilian cocoa sector seemed to have found its place under the sun. Although the country had not recovered its position from Ivory Coast, the crops had never been better, and farmers were as "rich" as could have dreamed of being. Unfortunately for them, though, this happiness would not last for long. 

[to be continued on part 2]

[Make informed trading decisions with our Premium Cocoa Reports. Packed with expert analysis and exclusive market intelligence, they’re your key to navigating the cocoa market!]

Sign up here!