Mr. Dante Muyco Jr. (left photo), Marketing Director of Chokolate de San Isidro, explained the many opportunities in the value chain of the cacao industry for the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) during the Davao Agri Trade Expo (DATE) Symposium at SMX Lanang in Davao City, which was held on September 22-24, 2016. Muyco encouraged the MSME to share in making the Philippines a key player in the international market for cacao products and avail of its many opportunities in production and processing and marketing. Among other things, Muyco explained that the cost of producing one kilo of cacao beans is P40-50 pesos per kilo while its average farm gate price does not go below P100.00. Mr. Francis Gonzales (right photo), owner of Coco Dolce, on the other hand, explained the process of milk and dark chocolate production. Gonzales recalled how his business started as a small business using crude equipment until it evolved as one of the country’s major cacao processors.