Consumers may find chocolate from local cacao trees bittersweet. That's because Hawai'i-grown chocolate is among the most expensive on the market with prices pushing $60 a pound.

For now, pricey Hawai'i-made chocolate produced by cacao growers such as Waialua's Dole Plantation and Kona's Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory remain novel products. However, the state and federal governments are investing more than a half-million dollars in the industry to overcome production, marketing and other hurdles preventing cacao from becoming a full-fledged industry. That day is still several years away, though there already are an estimated 50 acres of cacao trees statewide.

"It's in its infancy — not a lot of money has been made yet," said H.C. "Skip" Bittenbender, a cacao researcher at the University of Hawai'i. But, "it has the potential to be the Kona coffee of chocolate.

"Just as we moved a lot of macadamia and coffee back to the Mainland and Japan, we'll be doing that with our chocolate."

Cacao trees produce beans that are used to create cocoa and chocolate products. Like coffee producers, cacao growers will need to overcome the relatively high costs of farming in Hawai'i by targeting the gourmet market. If successful, cacao holds the promise of helping the state diversify away from pineapple and sugar cane, markets that have eroded in recent years.

Hawai'i, which is the only state with a commercial coffee industry, also has the potential to become the only state with a cacao industry. Currently cocoa is not grown in the United States. In 2005, manufacturers imported more than $870 million of cocoa beans, according to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association. An additional $670 million in processed cocoa including paste, butter, and powder also was imported.

"Americans just love chocolate," said Matthew Loke, administrator for the Agricultural Development Division of the state Agriculture Department. "It's got some great potential, not as a commodity crop but as a specialty, niche market crop."

During the past two years, the state has spent more than $100,000 funding cacao-related research. The University of Hawai'i and the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center in 'Aiea are studying different growing and processing techniques in an attempt to lay the groundwork for a cacao industry. That's on top of $422,000 in federal grants given to the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, which plans to use part of that money to boost chocolate production.

Local cacao growers already know Hawai'i's rich soil and perennial warm weather creates trees that in turn produce a tasty product. What's unclear is how tree genetics and environmental conditions affect cacao quality. Researchers also are still developing ways to clone and propagate the best local cacao varieties.

Just what yields Hawai'i growers can expect are still being studied, but an acre generally produces about 800 to 1,000 pounds of dry seed per acre, Bittenbender said. That's about half the yield of coffee trees; however, cacao could fetch higher prices than Kona coffee, which retails for $25 or more a pound. In contrast, Dole sells its Waialua Chocolates in 1.75-ounce packages for $6.50, which equates to nearly $60 a pound. Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory's 3-ounce chocolate bars sell for $10 apiece and $40 for a 1-pound bar.

The high prices are partly a result of low production volumes and high costs. Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory processes its own chocolate locally, while Dole chocolate is produced by Guittard Chocolate Company near San Francisco then shipped back to Hawai'i.

"In order for them to make any sort of profit, that's where it needs to be at this juncture," said Greg Colden, owner of Kokoleka Lani Farms, which has 1,800 cacao trees in Holualoa on the Big Island. "I'm really excited about where (the industry) is going to go."

But, "right now I hate to say, it's often considered a novel thing because people often don't have $40 to $60 to spend on a pound of chocolate," Colden said.

Prices for Hawai'i-grown chocolate could become more palatable as cacao acreage increases and production volumes rise.

Michael Cummins, co-owner of Honolulu Chocolate Company in Ward Centre, said a key factor in sales of Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory chocolates, which sell for $12.50 or more for a bar, is the fact that they're a handmade local product.

"If people can see that, that's what helps them appreciate it more," he said.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.