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India's Cocoa Crisis: Industry Demands National Mission to Slash $866M Imports

Industry leaders have called for a unified National Mission on Cocoa to reduce India's heavy import dependence, which costs over $866 million annually. Key recommendations include expanding polyclonal seed gardens and developing high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties through a dedicated Centre of Excellence. The proposed policy framework also seeks tax rationalisation and infrastructure strengthening to position India as a global processing hub. Despite being identified as a high-potential crop for farmer income, cocoa production faces challenges like fragmented policy support and limited quality planting material.

Key Points: India Needs Cocoa Mission to Cut $866M Imports: Industry

  • Launch National Mission on Cocoa
  • Expand seed gardens to 250 hectares by 2028
  • Rationalise tax and tariff structures
  • Develop climate-resilient crop varieties
2 min read

Policy framework, R&D and trade reforms needed to reduce India's cocoa import: Industry leaders

Industry leaders propose a National Cocoa Mission, tax reforms, and R&D to reduce India's heavy import dependence and boost domestic production.

"cocoa holds immense untapped potential to boost farmer incomes, strengthen agri-industry linkages - Syed Junaid Altaf"

New Delhi, April 15

India should launch a National Mission on Cocoa, expand polyclonal seed gardens, enhance subsidies, and boost research to cut import dependence, industry leaders said at a roundtable.

Industry leaders at a roundtable on "India's Cocoa Future: Self Sufficiency and Global Value Chain Integration" recommended a unified policy framework and expansion of polyclonal seed gardens to 250 hectares by 2028, with a focus on tribal and rainfed regions, a Grant Thornton Bharat report said.

Industry leaders also called for the development of high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties, the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for cocoa, the enhancement of subsidies, the introduction of a single-window digital platform, and the strengthening of FPOs.

Key action points discussed were rationalisation of tax and tariff structures to correct inverted duties and incentivise domestic processing and FDI.

Further, promotion of regional value-creation models to position India as a competitive global cocoa processing hub and strengthening of primary processing infrastructure for fermentation, drying, and quality stabilisation were also discussed.

"As a predominantly import-dependent crop, cocoa faces critical challenges across production and post-harvest management in India," said Additional Commissioner (Horticulture), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Naveen Kumar Patle.

FICCI Task Force on Horticulture Chairperson & Group Executive Director, FIL, Syed Junaid Altaf, emphasised that cocoa holds immense untapped potential to boost farmer incomes, strengthen agri-industry linkages, and support value-added and export-oriented growth in the years ahead.

The knowledge paper released at the roundtable noted that India currently meets only about 25-30 per cent of its cocoa demand domestically, and imports exceed $866 million annually.

It identified cocoa as a high-potential crop for diversification, offering climate resilience, intercropping benefits, and stable long-term farmer income.

However, structural challenges persist, including limited access to quality planting material, fragmented policy support, and underutilised processing capacity.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
$866 million in imports is a staggering figure. While the recommendations sound good on paper, the real challenge is execution. We've seen many such "missions" and "centres of excellence" announced before. What's the concrete, time-bound action plan? The single-window digital platform is a great idea if implemented well.
P
Priya S
As someone from Kerala, I've seen small cocoa plantations. The intercropping benefit with coconut is real and provides a safety net. But farmers need assured buy-back and better prices. Strengthening FPOs is the most crucial point here—it will give them collective bargaining power. Hope the policy moves fast!
V
Vikram M
The tax rationalisation point is critical. Inverted duty structures kill domestic processing. Why import beans when we can process here and create jobs? We need to incentivise making chocolate *in* India, not just growing beans for others. Becoming a global processing hub is an ambitious but worthy goal.
R
Rohit P
Climate-resilient varieties are a must. With unpredictable monsoons, farmers won't adopt a new crop unless it's hardy. The research part cannot be an afterthought. Our agricultural universities need to step up. Good to see a concrete target of 250 hectares for seed gardens by 2028.
K
Kavya N
My respectful criticism: The report talks about "tribal regions" but does the plan include genuine consultation with tribal communities? It should be participatory, not top-down. Their traditional knowledge could be invaluable. Also, what about post-harvest training? Fermentation and drying are specialized skills. 🍫

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