Rakiraki cacao comes through Cacao Fiji’s processing center in Nunukoloa, Ra, on Viti Levu. Cacao Fiji built the station to solve a practical problem for rural smallholder farmers: they had cacao, but inconsistent market access and uneven processing made quality hard to sustain. Buying wet cacao and handling fermentation and drying centrally gives the region a cleaner, more consistent path from farm to export.
About the Rakiraki Region
Rakiraki sits in Ra Province on the northern side of Viti Levu, Fiji’s largest island. The area has deep local history, including Navatu Rock near Vitawa village, and today it is also part of Fiji’s smallholder cacao revival.
For this cacao, the important story is the post-harvest network Cacao Fiji has built around Rakiraki. Farmers sell wet cacao into a central facility in Nunukoloa, Ra, where fermentation, drying, sorting, and export packing can be handled consistently.
Cacao Fiji’s broader story began in 2012, when Arif met farmers on Viti Levu who were passionate about cacao but lacked reliable markets. That farmer-first model still matters here. ACIAR describes companies like Cacao Fiji as important links between Fiji’s cocoa farmers, processing, export markets, and the local bean-to-bar maker Vanua Chocolate.
Post-Harvest Details
- Fermentation: Fresh cacao is fermented in 4-tier hardwood boxes for 5–6 days, monitored closely, with daily bean rotation.
- Drying: Fully fermented cacao is dried on decks for approximately one week and raked regularly each day.
- Sorting & packing: Beans are hand sorted and packed in GrainPro sealed bags for export.
- Processing model: Central fermentation and drying at Cacao Fiji’s Nunukoloa, Ra processing station.
Farm & Region Details
- Producer: Cacao Fiji
- Processing center: Nunukoloa, Ra, Viti Levu
- Region: Rakiraki area, Ra Province, Fiji
- Farmer network: Rural smallholder cocoa farmers from Rakiraki to Tailevu
- Crop context: Fiji cacao is grown largely by smallholder farms in low volumes, mainly for export.
