News | BRPTO recognizes Rondônia as a Geographical Indication for the production of cocoa

The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO) continues to work intensively with the recognition of Geographical Indications. This time, a new Geographical Indication, in the form of an Indication of Provenance, was granted for cocoa beans, coming from an area that covers all 52 municipalities in Rondônia, a Brazilian state.

The history of cocoa in Rondônia is ancient, with its existence dating back to 1790 in the region, as shown in the official documents presented to the BRPTO. However, commercial planting began in 1970, at a time when efforts were being made to increase production of the fruit in Brazil, as well as to keep people in the countryside and establish a crop that preserved characteristics similar to those of forest cocoa. In 2003, Rondônia was already the leading producer of cocoa beans in the Western Amazon.

The documents presented to BRPTO also demonstrated two important factors for cocoa production in Rondônia, the first of which is ecological in nature, since cocoa farming requires the preservation of native forest to maintain the shade needed to grow the product. The second refers to the superior physical and chemical quality of the fruit in the region.

Specific factors such as the microclimate, soil, production methods, and organoleptic attributes give uniqueness and differentiated quality to Rondônia’s cocoa, which has become the 84th Indication of Provenance granted by the BRPTO.

To date, the Institute has granted 118 Geographical Indications, 34 of which are Denominations of Origin (25 national and 9 foreign). All 84 Indications of Provenance are national.

See more (in Portuguese) at https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/central-de-conteudo/noticias/inpi-reconhece-indicacao-geografica-para-o-cacau-de-rondonia