Aiming to be the world’s largest purveyor of sustainable cacao, a company is developing a plantation in the Amazon that scientists say comes at the expense of primary forest
A cacao grower with roots in Southeast Asia’s palm oil industry has set up shop in the Peruvian Amazon. The CEO of United Cacao has told the international press that he wants to change the industry for the better, and Peru seems to provide the right conditions and climate, both for the plants themselves and the business.
But a cadre of scientists and conservation groups charge that United Cacao, through its “wholly owned” subsidiary in Peru, Cacao del Peru Norte, has quietly cut down more than 2,000 hectares of primary, closed-canopy rainforest near Iquitos, a city of about half a million that has the distinction of being the largest city in the world that’s not accessible by road.
Questions about the legality of United Cacao’s operations run counter to the company’s portrayal of itself as a force for positive change in the industry. On United Cacao’s website, Dennis Melka, CEO of United Cacao, references the company’s goal “of becoming the largest and lowest cost corporate grower of sustainable and traceable cacao beans.”
A Czech citizen and resident of the Cayman Islands, Melka built his reputation in the palm oil industry as a “serial plantations entrepreneur,” according to an article by agrimoney.com, and he’s proven he can make money for his investors. Asian Plantations, a palm oil company that he cofounded, sold in late 2014 for £110 million ($167 million), up from a 2009 market value of £20 million ($30 million).
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