NEWS |
017-97: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , February 11, 1997
The Brooklyn piers were the number one U.S. point of entry for cocoa beans in 1995, and preliminary reports for 1996 indicate that it was another strong year. The volume of cocoa bean imports has risen there for three straight years.
The Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where cocoa beans come in from West Africa for distribution to Nestle's, M & M Mars, Hershey and other nearby major manufacturers, is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
George J. Marlin, Executive Director of the Port Authority said, "The Port Authority is proud of the role it played in this New York maritime success story by improving piers at the Marine Terminal and ensuring a steady flow of chocolate not only for Valentine's Day, but for all 365 days a year." "Lower prices and higher volume give chocolate a bright, brisk future in Brooklyn," says Gerald Ponsiglione, Vice President of Continental Terminals, a 38-year-old business located on the Brooklyn waterfront at the Port Authority's Brooklyn Marine Terminal. "With most cocoa beans coming from Africa's Ivory Coast, this port is a natural landing spot, easily reached from Africa and sitting within the largest consumer market in the nation."
Driven by aggressive marketing and greater port efficiencies, cocoa imports overall have risen 74 percent over the last three years. By the third quarter of 1996, 100,234 tons of cocoa imports came in through the Port of New York and New Jersey, a gain of 32 percent over 76,146 tons for the same period in 1995. Close by are the nation's major chocolate producers: Nestle's, in upstate New York; M & M Mars in New Jersey; and Hershey in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Ponsiglione is a man with a winning smile and an easy-going manner, but he is also a smart businessman. "Cooperation among labor, our company and the Port Authority allowed the return of cocoa to the port," he says. "This port is the first choice of shippers because it has well-equipped warehouses and the most experienced labor."
Automation is the key to further reducing costs and making the port more competitive, he explains. Citing pier improvements made by the Port Authority, he adds that labor concessions have also made this port a more competitive one, providing more jobs and increased trade activity to the region.
Cocoa beans are now shipped in bags, then loaded onto pallets and brought into warehouses. Mr. Ponsiglione's dream is to have cocoa directly discharged from the hold of ships into the warehouse as is done in Europe not only for cocoa but for grain and sugar as well. Soon ships will handle cocoa through direct discharge or container only. He says, "The port that becomes most innovative will be the major port for the region."
The Port of New York and New Jersey, which region-wide generates some 166,500 jobs, should be well on its way to becoming that port, with the costs of doing business here dropping dramatically over the last few years.
Cocoa's future is difficult to determine. But with the U.S. consuming more than 2.6 billion pounds of chocolate per year, 11 pounds per person, Mr. Ponsiglione feels that cocoa imports should be a sure bet for the foreseeable future.
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