Twenty-one cocoa farmers and managers who have produced award-winning products around the country recently attended a three-day sensory evaluation capacity training at Tavilo, East New Britain.
They travelled from as far as West and East Sepik, Bougainville, Morobe, Madang, NCD and East New Britain provinces.
The participants hailed the training as an eye-opener, saying they learnt about the quality and profile flavour of chocolate, information that was vital for them to understand the end product from the cocoa beans they produce.
Training facilitators said although the demand for cocoa is yet to reach its peak, there is potential for PNG cocoa to be competitive in the world market.
One of the important sessions delivered was for participants to evaluate the quality of cocoa through tasting.
A representative from Queen Emma Chocolate said expertise like this is needed to teach cocoa growers and manufacturers how to flavour profile by products of coca beans, a skill that do not have much knowledge on.
Participants are encouraging authorities to support the continuation of this training.