Brazil’s Bahia Hosts World’s Largest Cocoa Farm Project Challenging West Africa’s Market Dominance

Brazilian farmer Moises Schmidt is building the world’s largest cocoa farm in Bahia, investing $300 million to create a plantation larger than Manhattan.

He uses industrial farming techniques common in soy and corn, planting 1,600 cocoa trees per hectare—five times the traditional density. Full irrigation and fertilization aim to boost yields to 4,000 kilograms per hectare, far surpassing Brazil’s average and even that of top producers like Ivory Coast.

This project emerges as the global cocoa market faces severe disruption. West Africa, which supplies over 70% of the world’s cocoa, struggles with declining yields due to disease, drought, and aging trees.

Ghana and Ivory Coast have lost up to half their output in some regions. Cocoa prices nearly tripled in 2024, reaching historic highs. Brazil, despite its ambitions, saw its own output fall by 18% in Bahia and even more in Pará, affected by El Niño and plant disease.

Bahia’s exports, however, soared in value. In 2024, the state shipped 46,000 tons of cocoa, earning $434 million—a 119% increase from the previous year. This rise reflects global shortages and high prices, not a production surge.

Brazil’s Cocoa Industry

Most Brazilian cocoa still comes from small farms, with 80% of growers operating on the margins of the financial system. New funds aim to lend $176 million to small producers for equipment and irrigation, but many lack access to capital.

Schmidt’s approach breaks with tradition. He grows cocoa in full sun, not shade, and uses high-yield varieties selected from test fields. His nursery, BioBrasil, produces up to 10 million seedlings a year, supplying both his farm and others.

Experts see this as a potential turning point. If industrial farming succeeds, Brazil could regain its former status as a cocoa powerhouse, shifting the industry’s center away from West Africa.

High costs, disease risks, and the challenge of mechanizing harvests remain. Brazil’s cocoa future depends on whether these new methods can deliver stable, high output at scale, and whether small growers can adapt.

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