Raw Cacao 2016
We have had a recent update from our suppliers regarding the raw Cacao that is sourced from Ecuador. There have been supply issues recently and we hope this will help explain what has happened.
Ecuador saw heavy rains this spring due to the effects of El Niño. The wetness caused a huge increase in mosquitoes and subsequently, an uplift in outbreaks of malaria and the Zika virus. The people of Ecuador naturally need to protect themselves from the mosquitoes and so the use of insecticides such as DEET has been widespread. In some remote areas such as the ones we use for collecting our Criollo Cacao the insecticides are being spread using small aircraft, this is invariably random in its application and has meant that we have had to put in place even more testing on the ground to ensure that the Raw Cacao that we bring to you is of the quality you demand and meets the EU guidelines for food safety.
The rains also caused disruption in towns and cities across Ecuador due to landslides and flooding, which in turn means our farmers and processors have found it much harder to bring the raw materials from the forest to the processing plant and ultimately to our warehouse.
Then on top of this on April 16, Ecuador suffered a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 661 people and injured approximately 27,732. A state of emergency was declared and 13,500 military personnel and police officers were dispatched for recovery operations. This meant that for the last month and a half we have been unable to ship any Cacao out of Ecuador.
Our farmers and processors are slowly getting back to their normal lives and doing all they can to send us the Raw Cacao, the first two shipments will be leaving Ecuador in the first couple of weeks of August. We will continue to support and work closely with our friends and partners in Ecuador to bring you the amazing products that they produce.
It has been a difficult 6 months for all involved in this supply chain and we really do value our customers’ loyalty as we work through these testing times.
We are leaving products with current stock available for sale, but anything without stock is currently unavailable until we get the products in.
You can find alternate options here in our webshop.