KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22: The commitment to keep its cacao products as natural as possible has been a key factor for the success Benns Ethicoa’s chocolates have been seeing at home and internationally.
Speaking at the recent launch of the Benns Ethicoa’s latest -Single Estate Kota Marudu Chocolate, the company’s founder and director Wilfred Ng said the company’s cacao beans for chocolate making are sourced from selected local farmers who produce high quality cacao beans.
The company also practices a transparent cacao production that emphasizes on retaining the quality and nutritional benefits of cacao, he said.
Deputy Minister of Plantation and Commodities Chan Foong Hin, who commended the company on its new product, said the government would continue to encourage local farmers to cultivate cacao planting.
While in the past, not many farmers took to planting the commodity due to fear of diseases affecting the crops and the poor prices, the scenario is better now for farmers, he said. Currently, the total hectarage of cacao planting in the country is estimated at 6,300 hectares.
Now would be the time for farmers to consider cacao planting as the prices for cocoa has gone up tremendously, Chan said.
The price of cocoa is reported to have gone up by 7,736.38 USD/MT or 184.38 percent since the beginning of 2024,
As for cacao plant diseases, Chan said the Malaysian Cocoa Board was ready to help farmers with tackling the issue of diseases. A lot of advances have been made through research, he said.
Malaysia currently imports cocoa more than it produces.
Later, during a tour of the company’s chocolate factory in Cheras, media members were taken through the production process for its chocolate products. Beginning with the selection and preparation of the cacao beans to its initial milling to separate its nutritious husks and then preparing the cacao powder, the guests got to witness the various stages of processing before the final preparation of the base for its variety of chocolate products.
Media members who were already heady with the delicious chocolates they had tasted earlier also got to experience the touch of cocoa butter produced in the factory.
No dairy is used in our products, said Lau Man Yee, a supervisor at the factory who provided the tour of the chocolate factory production. She also pointed out at the end of the tour the various international certificates Benns chocolates have received for their high standards.
— WE