Objective: To characterize the harvest and postharvest of the cocoa management system at La Chontalpa, Tabasco, Mexico.Design/methodology/approach: The study took place in the towns of Francisco Trujillo Gurría and Ernesto Aguirre Colorado de Huimanguillo, Tabasco, Mexico. The study was descriptive and accounted for 51 producers and those responsible for the cocoa profit centers. Producers were chosen through targeted sampling. A survey on their harvest and postharvest was applied, in addition to direct assessment in plantations and profit centers.Results: The cocoa harvesting is manual. The producers cut the ripe and almost ripe fruits, do not store and 58.8% of them do not make "quebraderos" with the fruits. With a “machete” cut the fruit in half and manually extract the grains. The fresh grains are sold at a profit. The cocoa is then fermented in wooden boxes, dried artificially, natural, or in a combined way, and packed in “yute” bags for sale. Profit centers do not keep track of their grain origin and make no selection or determine product quality.Study limitations/implications: All producers harvest in the same way, but the processes during post-harvest could differ at different collection centers.Findings/conclusions: The harvest of cocoa fruits at different maturity and the lack of storage causes a heterogeneous fermentation. The humidity level during the drying process is empirically determined.
