CACAO REVIEW

The Ecuadorian Cacao Its

history began before
the fifteenth century .Cocoa
is a tropical fruit,
crops are found mostly on
the coast and in the
Amazon. It is a tree with
small
flowers
observed in the branches
and produces an ear
containing grains covered
with a sugar-rich
pulp. Cocoa production is
concentrated mainly
in the provinces of Los
Rios,
Guayas,
Manabi and Sucumbios.
Cacao CCN-51 and
the
so-called
National
Cacao:
In
the
country two types of cocoa
are grown. It's a Fine
Aroma Cacao known as
'Top', since colonial
times. Ecuador is the
country with the
largest share in this segment of the world market (63% according to statistics PROECUADOR). Another
very important fact is that in 2011, Ecuador received the award as "best cocoa for its oral quality" and "best
cocoa beans by geographical region" at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France. Here are a reduced
adaptation of the original case involving a scenario of business development strategy.
Domestication, cultivation and consumption of cocoa were made by the Toltecs, Aztecs and Mayans about
2 000 years ago; however, recent research indicates that at least one variety of cocoa has its origin in the
Upper Amazon, 5,000 years ago. When the Spaniards arrived in America, the cocoa beans were used as
currency and to prepare a delicious drink and, a century later, the seeds were brought to Europe where
they developed a recipe by adding vanilla and sweet. It was not until the late nineteenth century, after
several experiments, the Swiss managed to produce the first chocolate milk, thus starting a global
industry. In the second half of the sixteenth century, this profitable business attracted the interest of
guayaquileos entrepreneurs and, in 1600, and the first crops were always on the banks of the tributaries
upstream of Guayaquil, which is known in the world as cacao Arriba. There are records that Ecuador
produces cocoa since 1780, but in 1911 was when he became one of the largest exporters. Today, most of
the cocoa exported by Ecuador corresponds to a mixture of national and Trinitarians introduced in 1930
and 1940, and is defined as Traditional Complex

MALDONADO ORTEGA RUTH

3/D

O.G.S.