It's hoped Fiji's first chocolate factory will give the country a strong economic boost when it begins production in Tailevu province, possibly later this year.
The Tailevu provincial council is waiting for about 35 thousand dollars from the interim Government which will be used to buy a machine used in chocolate manufacture from Sweden.
A council official, Kasi Miro, says Fiji currently imports all of its chocolate.
He says by producing it locally there'll be significant financial benefits.
"We hope that the community, which is the poor farmers would benefit from their cocoa plants they've already planted through our government initiative, and not only selling it as a raw product like cocoa beans, but able to add value to the product and produce other cocoa products like chocolate."
Kasi Miro says they intend to increase the number of cocoa farms in Fiji so they can supply cocoa beans to the factory and continue to export them.
