Cocoa plants begin to produce fruit at the age of 2.5-3 years after planting. Cocoa fruit production in the first year tends to be small and will continue to increase with age. To obtain optimal cacao productivity, it takes about 7-11 years.
Cocoa fruits that have met the criteria of harvest ready must be picked so that the quality of the seed does not go down. If the harvest is delayed, the seeds can germinate while still in the fruit and this will make the fat content of the seed down drastically. Such seeds generally have a very low selling price.