Senator Cynthia Villar has urged French chocolate manufacturer Valrhona to get their cacao from the Philippines, which is slowly gaining a reputation for being a source of topnotch beans. In her visit to the Valrhona headquarters in Train l’Hermitage in France, the senator said cacao farming in the Philippines has a huge market potential in global agri-business. “Cacao and coffee are strategic crops for us because these could be used for intercropping with coconuts,” said Villar who is the chairperson of the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Food and on Agrarian Reform. “The Philippines has 3.5-million coconut farmers who earn only $1 a day, so this [planting cacao] could provide a big boost to their income,” she added. Valrhona, the most prestigious chocolate manufacturer in France, has a selective sourcing policy.It currently sources cacao from only 18 countries and is actively looking for other possible sources of beans for its production of premium gourmet chocolate. During the visit, Villar was welcomed by Valrhona officials Veronique Huchede, Matthier Drobniak, and Benjamin Figarede. Drobniak gave the senator a tour of Valrhona’s chocolate factory, showcasing the entire process of transforming cacao beans to exquisite chocolate.