Say Manufacturers

It's All Just a Matter of Taste New Guinea Cocoa Is “Not” Merit Say Manufacturers

By a Staff Reporter

New Guinea cocoa bean planters can look forward to growing market in Australia but must look elsewhere to se the bulk of their crop in future years.

Following the conclusion of the first conference of the cocoa industry in New Guinea (see p. 137) I contacted manufac turers’ delegates who had returned to Australia, to get their impres sions of the conference.

All were pleased with the out come and offered some interesting observations on the Territory’s in fant industry.

But when I set out to “getd facts” I found I had wandered a private world where predict! estimates, and opinions on Territory’s cocoa beans were n and varied.

All stressed the fact that beans were “not inferior, but .

On his return to Hobart : Rabaul, Mr. J. P. D. Lloyd (cl man of Cadbury’s and leader oi< manufacturers’ delegation) quoted as saying that the NG was expected to reach 10,000 annually, within 10 years.

Other members of the delegs: had not seen this statement; told me 10 years should read “ or five years”.

Equal to Australia's Requires

To add to the confusion, MI W. Cooper was reported in i Press as saying, at the annual m ing of Hoadley’s Chocolates that the Territory should be to give Australia all her reqp ments, 192,000 bags, within t years.

I was later informed that c Cooper had been misquoted 1 “junior reporter”.

What Mr. Cooper had saidf that within a few years New Gv production would probably fulfifi requirements of Australian rm facturers —which puts an enu different complexion on it.

According to Mr. A. G. Hoa the NG beans, because of “distinct” flavour, will enjoy a share of the Australian mr for the foreseeable future.

Australian manufacturers however, wholeheartedly behimi scheme to improve the industf (Continued on page 145) (See also, “Delegates Learn a Lot” e

the Territory so that planters will be able to supply some of Austra lia’s needs and develop markets overseas for the rest of production.

At present, said Mr. Hoadley, some beans grown in the Territory are fetching premium prices on the London Market.

He added that it was difficult to predict the Territory’s production figures accurately in the next few years because the Administration’s figures included estimates of native plantings, but by 1962-63 produc tion could reach 10,000 tons.

At present, Australia’s total re quirements are in the vicinity of 10,000 tons.

Distinctive Taste

Mr. C. H. White (Small’s Choco late, and also a member of the manufacturers’ delegation to NG) was enthusiastic about NG beans, although he stressed that the “dis tinctive taste” would prevent them ever capturing more than a share of the Australian market.

It was all a matter of taste, he said, “like tea”.

Australians had become accus tomed to a certain basic flavour in chocolate and under present con ditions it was unlikely that any major departure could be accom plished.

Each growing area produced a bean with its own peculiarities, said Mr. White. This was caused by soil and conditions of environ ment. The NG bean was unlike others now used for chocolate manufacture in Australia, but it was used for blending.

Most other producing countries have grades known the world over.

There are four in West Africa and Australia buys one of these grades —generally the same one, year after year, because it fulfills the par ticular requirements of that country, as well as other areas sup plied by the Australian market.

Quality Has Improved

Mr. White said that some NG cocoa planters who had sent samples of the same crop to dif ferent manufacturers had been an noyed because they had received different quality valuations.

However, this was quite normal as each manufacturer had his own ideas on what constituted “quality”

This was the case the world over!

At one time, overseas, a panel had been set up to determine quality, but was disbanded when even it couldn’t agree.

But if quality cannot be defined; concensus of opinion among manu facturers was that there had been steady improvement in most of

the Territory product. Planters were still “learning the way”, however, although some were al ready producing a good bean with fine colour.

A comparison of West African and NG beans showed that the cocoa butter content of the Terri tory’s beans was not as high as the WA product. Moisture and shell, regarded as waste products, were also higher in the overal pur chases from NG.

The outlook, then, for the Terri tory’s cocoa industry seems to be bright, but markets will have to be sought elsewhere than in Australia, which according to manufactures, will be unlikely to take all of its requirements from that one source.