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Madagascar has in fact a long history of chocolate production, dating back to the early years of the French colonial times, 1937 to be precise. In those days, Madagascar was a major cocoa exporter in supplying a metropolitan France. Today Madagascar's cocoa production is tiny in comparison to for example the Ivory Coast, which produces about 38% of the world's cocoa, while almost all cocoa grown in Madagascar comes from an area about 50 kilometres in radius and represents less than 1% of the world's cocoa production. The cocoa plantations can be found within the Ambanja district in [[Sambirano]], an area named after a river which runs through the countryside from the foothills of Madagascar's highest peak into the Indian Ocean. The soil by the Sambirano riverbed and its surrounding cocoa plantations is highly enriched with minerals and nutrients due to the natural sesonal flooding of the river. Unlike cocoa producing regions in most other countries, the Sambirano area is unique in that it yields cocoa all year round. There are plenty of Criollo (the best cocoa beans), Forastero (the most common variety) and Trinitario (a cross between Criollo and Forastero).