MAP OF THE WORLD, WITH ONLY CACAO-PRODUCING AREAS MARKED.
SOUTH AMERICAN CACAO.
In the map of South America given on p. 89 the principal cacao producing areas are marked. Their production in 1918 was as follows:
CACAO BEANS EXPORTED.
| Country. | Metric Tons.[2] | Percentage of World's production. |
| Brazil | 41,865 | 15.4 |
| Ecuador | 38,00 | 14.0 |
| (Guayaquil alone 34,973 tons) | ||
| Venezuela | 13,000 | 5.0 |
| Surinam | 2,468 | 0.9 |
| British Guiana | 20 | 0.01 |
| South American Total | 95,353 tons | 35.31 per cent. |
|
|
RAKING CACAO BEANS ON THE DRIERS. | GATHERING CACAO PODS IN ECUADOR. |
(La Clementina Plantation, Ecuador.) | |
ECUADOR.
Arriba and Machala Cacaos.—In Ecuador, for many years the chief producing area of the world, dwell the cacao kings, men who possess very large and wild cacao forests, each containing several million cacao trees. The method of culture is primitive, and no artificial manures are used, yet for several generations the trees have given good crops and the soil remains as fertile as ever. The two principal cacaos are known as Arriba and Machala, or classed together as Guayaquil after the city of that name. Guayaquil, the commercial metropolis of the Republic of Ecuador, is an ancient and picturesque city built almost astride the Equator. Despite the unscientific cultural methods, and the imperfect fermentation, which results in the cacao containing a high percentage of unfermented beans and not infrequently mouldy beans also, this cacao is much appreciated in Europe and America, for the beans are large and possess a fine strong flavour and characteristic scented aroma. The amount of Guayaquil cacao exported in 1919 was 33,209 tons.
