Cocoa samples from Bougainville have been recognised as one of the world’s best after winning gold at the 2021 Cocoa of Excellence awards ceremony in Rome, Italy. The win follows nearly 9 months of judging, with cocoa samples from all over the world submitted to the prestigious competition. Samples from Bougainville were grown through a research project supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), as part of the PNG Australia Partnership.  Seven other countries from the Asia-Pacific Region received gold during an awards ceremony last week. In the lead up to final judging, a total of 235 samples of cocoa from 53 different parts of the world were examined and 50 finalists selected. A group of international judges made the final selection based on 12 criteria that included bitterness, astringency, acidity, and floral and woody notes. All judging was blind with samples only assigned a number. ‘This is a remarkable achievement, and it will create opportunities for selling Bougainville cocoa in niche markets in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand,’ said Bougainville Director of Agriculture and Livestock, Wendy Pihau. ‘In the final, Bougainville went up against experienced producers from Hawaii, Indonesia and Malaysia. To be ranked with such company is a great achievement. To win gold along with traditional producers from South America, Africa and the Caribbean is a banner day for the Bougainville industry,’ Ms Pihau said. The prized cocoa samples were grown and submitted to the competition by the Autonomous Bougainville Government’s Department of Primary Industries (DPI) at their Kubu Research Station near Buka. James Butubu, the Bougainville coordinator of the ACIAR cocoa project, said ‘I am just so happy with this milestone achievement for our cocoa industry.’ The Department of Primary Industries has been working in partnership with the University of Sydney, PNG Cocoa Board and the University of Natural Resources and Environment as part of the ACIAR project, which is supported by the PNG Australia Partnership. ‘I would like to express my gratitude to the Australian Government for supporting the ACIAR research activities and the Bougainville Partnership’s Commodity Support Facility. This support is improving the livelihoods for farmers and communities,’ said Mr Butubu. The Commodity Support Facility is a grants program for cocoa farmers which provides seedlings, training, tools and machinery. ACIAR Horticulture Research Program Manager, Irene Kernot, in congratulating DPI and the project team, said this exciting achievement validates long running cocoa research in Bougainville and across PNG. ‘ACIAR, through the Bougainville cocoa value chain project, has been supporting cocoa farmers to access premium markets, while promoting gender equity, community health and well-being,’ Ms Kernot said. The Cocoa of Excellence competition is held every two years, co-ordinated by the Rome-based Alliance of Biodiversity International and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture from South America. It aims to explore and develop cocoa that will add diversity to the varieties available to producers worldwide and ensure the industry can prosper through better genetics and good quality and unique flavour profiles.