Development

Cocoa production in the Pacific evolved from the English settlers in Samoa, Fiji, and the New Hebrides experimenting with cotton in the 1870s. Cotton prices soared in England following the interruptions to supply that followed the American Civil War. When American cotton production resumed in the 1870s, cotton prices plummeted. Consequently, the settlers looked to other high-priced crops such as cocoa, coffee, rubber and sisal. Cocoa was favored because as long as it was processed and stored correctly it would not deteriorate …