Colombia is celebrating cocoa with the Tumaco Chocolate Festival (ChocoFest). Started in 2017 on Colombia’s Pacific coast, it has become a space for connecting the region’s cocoa-growing families, bringing together producers from all links in the cocoa value chain.
The 2025 edition runs from today until next Saturday, with activities that allow active participation from the community and all attendees around the business roundtable, the experience route, the “Golden Cocoa” contest, the “Producers of Peace” panel, the trade fair, specialized seminars, and a photo exhibition.
In recent years, cocoa has established itself as a high-quality agricultural product, aimed both at domestic consumption and the export market. For the South American country, it is one of the crops promoted by the government as a substitute for illicit coca cultivation in peripheral regions, where coca has often been one of the few economically viable crops.
ChocoFest Tumaco 2025: cocoa drives regional development in Colombia
Between this Wednesday, Sept. 17, and next Saturday, Sept. 20, Colombia is hosting the eighth edition of ChocoFest, the cocoa and chocolate festival held in the city of Tumaco, in the department of Nariño, near the border with Ecuador.
The current Colombian government sees in cocoa, as in other agricultural products, an opportunity to promote alternatives to coca cultivation in remote regions far from the political center that, traditionally and still today, are home to illicit coca crops under the pressure of illegal armed groups involved in drug trafficking.
That is why these actions to promote cocoa take on special importance, in a context where the government of Gustavo Petro seeks to encourage the voluntary substitution of illicit crops with legal products such as cocoa.
In this sense, the government highlighted its commitment to supporting direct commercialization, without intermediaries, and promoting — through strategic planning — that rural producers take their samples to international events such as the Coffee and Cocoa Fair in Helsinki, Finland, and the Business Macro-Roundtable in Osaka, Japan.
As part of ChocoFest 2025, the Rural Development Agency (ADR) will play a strategic role in two key events: on Sept. 18 at the Business Roundtable — Farmers’ Showcase and Rural Business Agenda, and on Sept. 19 at the Cocoa Agro-Fair.
“Cocoa is a symbol of transformation, an ancestral food, a people’s economy, and a bridge to international markets. From the national government, we are working so that every producer becomes a protagonist of food sovereignty and rural dignity,” said Cesar Pachon, president of the ADR.
Today, this event is one of the most representative of the sector on the Pacific coast and is part of the cultural, tourism, and productive agenda offered by the Special District of Tumaco. All of these initiatives have the potential to strengthen capacities, open markets, create value networks, and position Tumaco as a region of peace through cocoa.
Colombian cocoa: from traditional crop to export powerhouse
In recent decades, cocoa production in Colombia has undergone a remarkable transformation, moving from a marginal crop to becoming a driver of economic and social development in several regions of the country. Traditionally grown in rural areas such as Santander, Arauca, Huila, and Tumaco, Colombian cocoa has found in its fine flavor and aroma beans a distinctive seal that positions it in international markets.
At the end of the 20th century, production was characterized by small volumes and limited marketing capacity. However, since the 2000s, the country has promoted public policies and technical assistance programs that have expanded cultivation areas, modernized farming practices, and strengthened producers. Today, more than 60,000 families depend on cocoa as their main source of income, making this product a key pillar of the rural economy.
International recognition has been decisive. Sustainability certifications, fair trade initiatives, and an emphasis on traceability have opened doors in high-value markets such as Europe, the United States, and Japan. Currently, Colombia exports cocoa and cocoa products to more than 20 countries, consolidating a reputation built on premium quality.
Among the many international awards Colombian cocoa has received, the gold medal at the 2024 Cacao of Excellence (CoEx) competition in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, stands out.
The challenge for the future is to remain competitive against giants such as Ivory Coast and Ghana by betting on differentiation. Along this path, Colombian cocoa is projected not only as an agricultural product but also as an ambassador of sustainability, tradition, and territorial development.