The Cocoa Industry Board was established under the Cocoa Act in 1974, and since then has gone through a number of changes including repealing the 1974 Act and replacing it with Cocoa Act 198, which is also currently under review. Cocoa is the third most significant agriculture crop in terms of economic importance to PNG. It is a rural-based crop cultivated by rural village farmers, contributes over K300 million to the GDP annually and affects about 151, 000 households representing over 2 million people in almost all coastal provinces, and now has presence in the Highlands of PNG.
Papua New Guinea has a global reputation of producing some of the highest quality cocoa in the world. The Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea is the mandated organization in charge of regulation and policy of Cocoa as an agriculture crop. Cocoa is the third most important source of village agriculture income, after Coffee and fresh food. The Industry goal is to build a dynamic, competitive and sustainable cocoa industry.