Bolivarian Government meets with the International Cocoa Organization - MPPRE

Bolivarian Government meets with the International Cocoa Organization

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela recently reactivated its membership in the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) and this Friday authorities of the People’s Power Ministries for Tourism and Foreign Trade; Foreign Relations and Productive Agriculture and Lands held a telematic meeting with the board of this organization, based in Cotê d’Ivoire.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Tourism and Foreign Trade, Félix Plasencia; the Vice-ministers of Foreign Relations for Multilateral Issues, Alexander Yánez and for Africa, Yuri Pimentel; the President of the Venezuelan Cacao Socialist Corporation, Gabriel Arocha; and the Venezuelan ambassador in Benin, Belén Orsini, as moderator, among other authorities.

ICCO was attended by its Executive Director Michel Arrion and the Director of the Economics and Statistics Division, Michele Nardella.

During the meeting, the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela presented the national plan for cocoa and the certification of the item, its positioning in the international market, projection, results of successful policies in the state of Miranda and relations between Venezuela and the organization.

Minister Félix Plasencia initially expressed interest and concern for the cocoa market, and Venezuela’s commitment to being a leading and active participant in the multilateral organization.

The head of the office for Tourism and Foreign Trade assured that Venezuela has all the potential in water and energy resources, and fertile lands, to build a certain production route that allows it to continue being a world reference of the highest quality, both in grains and by-products made from cocoa.

Likewise, Héctor Silva, Vice-minister for Foreign Trade, stressed that it is a policy of President Nicolás Maduro to generate added value to this agricultural product, for which everything required for the for transformation and processing of cocoa have been installed, aiming to position very high quality by-products in the international market, such as paste, cocoa powder and chocolate, which have a high consumption worldwide.

“We have the capacity to take our production and export of cocoa to another level, and we want to count on the entire structure of the organization so with its support and advice we can generate that positioning, not only in new markets regarding to the grain but also with all its by-products”, he added.