Which one of the following is NOT a major cocoa producer country?

The correct answer is A) Latvia. Cocoa is a tropical tree that needs high humidity, year-round warmth, heavy rainfall and frost-free conditions, so it grows within about 20 degrees of the equator. Latvia lies in the cold Baltic region of Northern Europe and has no cocoa production of any scale.

• Ivory Coast (D): The world's largest cocoa producer, supplying roughly 40 per cent of global output.
• Ghana (C): Traditionally the second largest producer and a leading West African grower.
• Cameroon (B): A major cocoa producer in Central Africa, and one of the important exporters in the region.

The core concept is the agro-climatic zone of a crop. For Mains GS-III, this links to the cocoa value chain and to India's own cultivation in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which is coordinated by the Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development under the Ministry of Commerce.

Trap: Aspirants often confuse chocolate manufacturing hubs, such as Belgium and Switzerland, with cocoa producers. Processing and consumption are not the same as cultivation.