Cocoa saplings from a research institute in Jalpaiguri will be sent to Assam for cultivation and the plant’s seeds will be used for making chocolates and other items.

According to sources, Mondelez India Foods Private Limited, a subsidiary of Mondelez International which owns the globally famous Cadbury brand, will set up a plant in Assam to produce chocolates, beverages and other products.

“Along with the plant, the company has also decided to set up a cocoa plantation to use the tree’s seeds, a primary ingredient of chocolates and similar products, at the site in Assam. For the plantation, they have placed an order for 5,000 cocoa saplings with us,” said Arun Kumar Sit, the scientist in charge of the CPCRI (Central Plantation Crops Research Institute) Research Centre located at Mohitnagar, on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri.

Headquartered in Kasaragod in Kerala, the CPCRI conducts research on coconut, areca nut, coco cashew and some other crops. It has several research centres in the country, including the one in Mohitnagar.

“They could have got the saplings from south India but the transport cost would have been much higher. That is why they approached us. In the coming days, we hope we will get similar orders from the company and other firms,” Sit said.

He said the saplings of the areca nut and the coconut were being sent to different northeastern states for cultivation. “But this is the first time that we will send cocoa saplings. Our research has worked and we could successfully come up with saplings which can produce rich quality cocoa pods,” the scientist said.

Sit said a cocoa sapling grows within three years and starts producing pods which contain seeds. “A kilo of dry cocoa seeds costs around ₹250 in the market.”