Americans need their chocolate fix and it’s the South Jersey Port’s mission to help satisfy it.
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On December 16, the annual flow of high quality cocoa beans from West Africa will begin a month early when 215,000 sacks of cocoa beans are off-loaded at the Joseph A. Balzano Marine Terminal in Camden from the ship “Four Diamonds.â€
“Working with our partners, Camden International Commodities Terminals and Delaware River Stevedores, we’ve become the premier cocoa bean import terminal on the East Coast,†Andy Saporito, CEO and Executive Director of SJPC.
The cocoa bean business means more jobs. In addition to the scores of full-time terminal workers, hundreds of local day-laborers are hired throughout the season to sort, store, and handle millions of sacks of cocoa beans for final processing by major confectionary companies including chocolate giants: Hershey, Mars, and Blommer.
“Our process at South Jersey Port is far more efficient than containerized beans,†Jeff Wheeler, president of CICT explained. “We eliminate that additional step of loading and unloading millions of bags of beans from containers both here and on the source.â€
“It is a seamless team effort from ship to warehouse honed over 20 years of expert experience to deliver every bean,†added Robert Palaima of Delaware River Stevedores.
“For most of our day labor crews, it’s a family affair: fathers and sons, aunts and nieces, brother and sister, uncles and nephews. And they’re getting a nice payday before Christmas. We’re all excited when the ship comes in!â€
The 14,000 tons of beans brought in by the “Four Diamonds†is the first installment on what is hoped to be a rebounding cocoa bean import business that was damaged last year by market effects of coronavirus.
Chocolate is an impulse buy and perfecting the balance of supply and demand has been extraordinarily complex as confectionary companies realign their marketing strategies from brick and mortar stores to digital in order to energize sales. ■