Sustainable Sourcing

Women make up 43% of the agricultural labour force in developing countries but own less land and livestock than men and have less access to credit or cooperatives.

Empowering women in agriculture is good for business

By Niamh Michail

Empowering women in small-hold agriculture is essential to boosting productivity, creating new product launches and generating business - and companies are starting to realise this, says a Fairtrade Foundation report.

At what price? Chocolate industry cocoa sustainability efforts miss core of the problem: Extreme poverty. Photo Credit: Oxfam America

Cocoa Barometer 2015

Extreme poverty ignored in sustainable cocoa drive, say NGOs

By Oliver Nieburg

Chocolate manufacturers have made great strides in cocoa sustainability, but are fixated on boosting productivity and can do far more to ensure cocoa farmers receive a living income, according to a report by NGOs.

Fairtrade defends cocoa sourcing program to loyal customer Divine Chocolate

Divine Chocolate questions Fairtrade cocoa sourcing program

By Oliver Nieburg

Divine Chocolate says multinationals are escaping fuller Fairtrade commitments under the certification body’s new rules. But Fairtrade says its sourcing program is the only way to reach cocoa farmers at scale.

Mondelēz: ‘Ultimately we will source all our cocoa from Cocoa Life'

Cocoa Life program update

Mondelēz: Deadlines on sustainable cocoa are not realistic

By Oliver Nieburg

Mondelēz International plans to eventually source its entire cocoa supply from its Cocoa Life sustainability program, but says setting deadlines won't lead to meaningful impact on the ground.

Cocoa origin labeling enables consumers to avoid chocolate made via child slavery, says the Food Empowerment Project.  But the International Cocoa Initiative warns that boycotts could make things worse.

Food Empowerment Project urges transparency on child slavery

West Africa boycott needed for slave-free chocolate, says consumer group

By Oliver Nieburg

The Food Empowerment Project has called on US chocolate makers to list cocoa country of origin on pack so consumers can avoid brands that use cocoa from West Africa, where it claims unlawful child labor is common.

Cocoa surplus grows and Côte d’Ivoire to surpass the Netherlands as world's largest cocoa grinder

ICCO extends cocoa surplus for 2013/14

By Oliver Nieburg

The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has estimated a larger surplus for the cocoa year just past and has noted an increase in origin grindings.

Peruvian cocoa yields are on the rise and the country is poised to by a key cocoa exporter for the future

Peru to become top 10 cocoa exporter, says USDA

By Oliver Nieburg

Cocoa production in Peru is set to rise 5% in calendar year 2014 and increases in planting will see the country become a key cocoa exporter in the coming years, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Manufacturers' commitments are driving uptake, the RSPO says

Market uptake surges for RSPO-certified palm oil

By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil now accounts for 18% of the total global palm oil market, up from 15% last year, according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Nicaragua could grow into a fine flavor cocoa hub, but farmers need to understand the benefits of fermentation, says Atlanta Chocolate founder

Origins: Cocoa’s coming home

Nicaragua: A future fine flavor cocoa origin, but work needed

By Oliver Nieburg

Nicaragua holds potential as a future fine flavor cocoa origin as farmers shift from coffee to cocoa, but much work is needed to improve fermentation practices, according to Atlanta Chocolate’s founder.

'No other vegetable oil can compete with palm in terms of efficiency. It is ten times more productive than soybean and seven times more productive then rapeseed,' said Dr Kalanithi Nesarentam of MPOB

Dispatches from Euro Fed Lipid Congress, Montpellier

Malaysia hopes to double palm oil production by 2020

By Anna Bonar

Malaysia hopes to double its palm oil production by 2020 without having to dedicate more land to palm plants, according to a Malaysian minister.

Scenes of the past? Mars claims it has eradicated need for cocoa bean fermentation. Photo credit: Susitainable Cocoa Initiative

Patent Watch

Has Mars found a way around cocoa bean fermentation?

By Oliver Nieburg

Mars has filed a patent for a method to process unfermented cocoa beans that it claims would maintain the final chocolate taste and allow for a more consistent flavor.