UPPSC 2021 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 6 of 150

Correct — A, Latvia. 'Coco' here is the booklet's spelling of cocoa (Theobroma cacao). Cocoa is a tropical tree crop that needs a hot, humid climate within roughly 10-20 degrees of the equator, so the world's cocoa belt is overwhelmingly West/Central Africa. Latvia is a cool, temperate Baltic country in northern Europe and grows no cocoa at all — it is the odd one out. The other three, Ghana, Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) and Cameroon, are all major West/Central African cocoa producers.

• (b)Cameroon — Wrong — Cameroon is one of the world's leading cocoa producers (typically among the top five), so it IS a major producer.
• (c)Ghana — Wrong — Ghana is consistently the world's second-largest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast, so it is a major producer.
• (d)Ivory Coast — Wrong — Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) is the single largest cocoa producer in the world, supplying roughly 40% of global output; definitely a major producer.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is a tropical cash crop whose beans are the raw material for chocolate. It demands consistently hot, humid conditions and shade, so commercial cultivation is confined to a narrow belt within about 10-20 degrees of the equator. West and Central Africa dominate world output, with Ivory Coast and Ghana alone supplying well over half.

The trap is that three options are tropical West/Central African countries where cocoa is a major crop, while one, Latvia, is a temperate northern-European country whose climate cannot support cocoa. Spotting the climatic and regional 'odd one out' gives the answer.

• Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is a tropical crop needing hot, humid conditions within ~10-20 degrees of the equator.
• Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) and Ghana are the world's two largest cocoa producers, together roughly 60% of global output.
• Cameroon and Nigeria are also major West/Central African cocoa producers.
• Latvia is a Baltic country in temperate northern Europe and produces no cocoa.

• Assuming a temperate European country could be a major tropical-crop producer
• Confusing cocoa (Theobroma cacao) with coconut (Cocos nucifera)

UPPSC/UPSC ask 'which is NOT a major producer of crop X' or match crops to their leading producing countries — remember the tropical West-African cocoa belt.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which country is the largest producer of cocoa in the world?

  • (a)Ghana
  • (b)Ivory Coast
  • (c)Nigeria
  • (d)Brazil

  Answer(b) Ivory Coast — Cote d'Ivoire is the world's leading cocoa producer, ahead of Ghana.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Cocoa cultivation requires which type of climate?

  • (a)Hot and humid tropical
  • (b)Cool temperate
  • (c)Hot and dry arid
  • (d)Cold polar

  Answer(a) Hot and humid tropical — cocoa grows only in the equatorial tropics.