Sepik Cocoa Quality Shines: UK Chocolatiers Impressed by Papua New Guinea Cocoa at Tasting Event

Wewak, Papua New Guinea – Papua New Guinea hosted its mini-Cocoa Cupping competition in Baimuru Village, Yangoru-Saussia District, East Sepik Province. The two-day event drew nine specialty buyers and chocolatiers from the United Kingdom and brought together hundreds of producers, fermentary owners, extension workers, traders, and community members. It was organized by Yekere Cooperative Society Limited with support from the Cocoa Board of PNG, EU-STREIT PNG Programme, and local partners. 

A panel of four local judges from the Cocoa Board of PNG, Rubio Cocoa Plantation and Queen Emma Chocolate Company undertook the assessment, tasting chocolates made from samples provided by 39 cocoa farmers and groups from the Greater Sepik region. The judging panel was chaired by Kenny Francis, who works as Sub-Program Leader of the Post-Harvest & Research section under the Cocoa Board of PNG, and included two females and two males.

While explaining the process to participants, Mr Francis said: “When we were doing the tasting, we really had a difficult time to differentiate quality of the samples which means your processing is uniform or consistent,” adding, “that’s a very good indication because there were no major defects in all the samples. You should be proud because nearly all cocoa beans are of A grade export quality.”

The same high assessment was also echoed by the British chocolatiers once they tested the chocolates.

From York Cocoa House (UK chocolatier), Sophie Jewett affirmed: “I’m very grateful to the people of Sepik to share their cocoa with us and their chocolate and the different techniques employed here; we’ve tasted really good beans and I would be really pleased as a chocolate maker to be working with any of these cocoa beans with factory in UK. It’s been a really amazing experience.” 

Alex O’Connor, from Nutricraft House (UK wholesaler and importer), was impressed by the high quality. “I was actually very impressed, some were amazing, some were nice, but nothing was bad,” he said. He highlighted a key success factor: “Sometimes you hear that chocolate can be smoky in Papua New Guinea but all the beans we tasted in the competition there was no smoke which was amazing to see, which actually shows that people are starting to work on drying beans and understand how to improve the quality.” O’Connor added that he is “really looking forward to trying to work with the people of Sepik... and bring some Papua New Guinea chocolate to the UK and Europe.”

Rory Payne, from Cocoaloco (British craft chocolate maker), said: “Our customers have never seen a cocoa tree and most of them don’t know what a cocoa pod is. My job here today is to take your story, your pictures and your passion back to them.”

From CocoaCaravan (UK small-batch chocolate company), Jacques Cop explained: “I was born on a farm and knows the hard work it takes to take the things out of your ground and out of your animals, it’s amazing. We have a chocolate factory in the Green Rolling Hills in the UK where we work with many different cocoa farmers from around the world and what they all have in common is we’d like to work with independent indigenous people and small man-handle farmers like cocoa farmers in the Sepik. We see amazing cocoa they make and the amazing culture they bring and we love to work and add a beautiful cocoa from Papua New Guinea to our collection.”

This visit by the overseas chocolate makers, tasters, and importers was made possible through the International Trade Centre’s United Kingdom Trade Partnership (UKTP) Programme, Cocoa Board of PNG, and FAO’s EU-STREIT PNG Programme. The UKTP is funded by the UK and implemented by the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, to help small and medium size businesses to export their product to the UK.

Ms Candice Webb Ungerer, the UKTP Project Manager for the Pacific, explained: “The goal of this visit was to create direct partnership between the buyers and the producers in the hope of facilitating sustainable long-term trade,” adding, “I’m so impressed, the welcome we received is so unprecedented. I’ve never been welcome like that before in my life and I know that every single person in the delegation is so grateful of the event being held as the same time they’re coming.” She added: “I think having all these cocoa producers together in one spot is such an advantage because it gives cocoa buyers opportunity to sample so many different cocoa products.” 

This success follows a tailored market-readiness training conducted last month for 68 lead cocoa producers and agripreneurs in the Sepik to help them meet high European market requirements. The training was with support from the UKTP, Cocoa Board of PNG and the EU-STREIT PNG Programme. (For details on this training, see: https://www.fao.org/in-action/eu-streit-png/news/detail/cocoa-transformation-sepik-papua-new-guinea-attarcts-european-markets/en) 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through the EU-STREIT Programme and partners, supports improved practices, technologies, and quality control measures in the cocoa value chain, including proper fermentation and drying, which have demonstrably lifted cocoa quality in the Greater Sepik region and beyond, leading to the positive feedback seen at this competition.

The event's success was a direct result of strong partnership. Speaking on behalf of EU-STREIT PNG during the official welcome ceremony with colourful traditional songs and dances, Dr Rabi Rasaily, the FAO Senior Agricultural Officer, acknowledged Yekere Cooperative Society Limited for the cocoa cupping initiative. “They came to our office saying they’re planning this event and put the initial capital and EU-STREIT PNG and Cocoa Board came in as co-organizer and co-facilitator. We’re so happy to coincide this event with the visit of our partners or buyers.”

Mr Daryll Worimo, Regional Manager for Cocoa Board in the Sepik, said the purpose of the mini-cocoa cupping event was “to promote Premium Cocoa Quality at farm level using sustainable practices and the event, which is the first of its kind in the country mobilized  by a cocoa producing community, is a lead-up to the PNG’s National Cocoa of Excellence and Agri Trade Show to be held in the greater Sepik in 2026.”

About the EU-STREIT PNG Programme

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme is the European Union’s largest grant-funded initiative under the EU Global Gateway Strategy in Papua New Guinea, implemented as a United Nations Joint Programme led by FAO in partnership with ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP. It focuses on boosting sustainable, inclusive rural development by enhancing returns and opportunities in the cocoa, vanilla and fisheries value chains (FAO) and by strengthening key enablers: digital inclusion (ITU and FAO), digital financial services (UNCDF), sustainable, climate-resilient transport infrastructure (ILO), and renewable-energy solutions (UNDP and FAO). The Programme directly benefits the East and West Sepik Provinces.

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