A new report sheds light on the urgent need to address critical environmental, poverty and child labour issues in cocoa, particularly those in indirect supply chains
An investor letter issued earlier this month by non-profit Investor Advocates for Social Justice (IASJ) has called out international chocolate companies to end what it described as “exploitative purchasing practices,” mainly in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
After a topsy-turvy week, world cocoa prices recovered on Tuesday after registering losses of more than 20% the prior week, but the market is still struggling with a lull in trading.
An investigation by Initiatives for Community Development and Forest Conservation (IDEF) has revealed that some cocoa beans exported from Cote d'Ivoire to the EU originate from deforested land in neighboring Liberia.
Climate change will affect many industries, but few more than cocoa. While farmers on the ground struggle with fluctuating climatic conditions changing working practices, large companies grapple with environmental regulation.
A new video produced by the African Cocoa Marketplace (ACM) reveals the plight of cocoa farmers in West Africa who struggle to grow enough beans to earn a living.
Market update: Analysts have described the upward trajectory of cocoa prices as ‘parabolic’ as cocoa futures rose another 2.7% to a new record of $10,760 a ton in New York on Monday (15 April) before falling back to £10,000 a ton after the dollar index...
Ghana will follow Cote d’Ivoire and raise the fixed farmgate price paid to cocoa farmers by up to 50%. The announcement could be made as early as the end of this week, ConfectioneryNews understands.
Cote d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara has personally authorized the increase of the cocoa farmgate price to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.47) per kg from the current 1,000 CFA in an official announcement made today (Tuesday, 2 April) in Abidjan.
UPDATE: TUESDAY 26 MARCH 2024: Cocoa prices continued to rise this week. Earlier today the price of cocoa beans smashed through the $10,000 a ton for the first time in the futures market after posting gains all week - with chocolate makers passing on...
The influential and respected cocoa consultant Dr Kristy Leissle has launched a new marketing company that puts cocoa farmers’ perspectives at the centre of the procurement process so they can share in revenue from the sale of their beans.
The El Niño weather phenomenon, which hit the west coast of Africa last year, carrying unseasonal heavy rains followed by dry heat, is the main factor in an 11% drop in the season’s main cocoa harvest, according to the latest figures from the International...
Cocoa futures in London and New York rose to fresh record highs on trading platform ICE on Monday this week as increasing concern about supply shortages in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world's top two producers, left buyers scrambling for beans from...
It was billed in the World Cocoa Foundation agenda as a ‘Fireside Chat.’ Still, the conversation was anything but cozy as the 2024 Partnership Meeting welcomed back Yves Brahima Koné, Cote d’Ivoire’s Coffee & Cocoa Council director general, and Joseph...
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has warned that a rise in freight rates due to conflict in the Red Sea also added to costs for chocolate producers.
Unseasonable and welcome rain in West Africa is expected to boost the main cocoa crop, improve the quality of beans and lower the price of cocoa on the market, according to farming sources.
Heavier-than-usual rainfall during the past three to six months in the main cocoa-producing countries of West Africa - Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon could impact the chocolate industry due to a shortage of its main ingredient, according...
The Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI) is set to present updates on the industry’s commitment to eliminate deforestation and restore degraded forests at COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will be held this year in Dubai from 30...
Cocoa prices in New York reached a record high of $4,000 per tonne at the close of play last week – with some analysts predicting a supply shortfall in the 2023-24 season, which could push up prices even higher over the coming months.
The VOICE network, publishers of the influential Cocoa Barometer, which calls to account the chocolate industry on child labour and other sustainability issues, has issued a statement following reports in ConfectioneryNews and other media, on allegations...
The African Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, which brings together civil society cocoa platforms from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, has issued a statement alleging the cocoa industry is refusing to pay at the current market price plus the Living Income...
The European Union has urged Cote d’Ivoire to ramp up its efforts regarding the traceability of its cocoa if the country is going to meet the criteria of the EU deforestation law that comes into effect in January 2025.
Cocoa prices climbed this week as the result of stronger global cocoa demand, with barchart.com reporting that Gepex, an exporter group that includes six of the world's biggest cocoa grinders, said that its Q3 cocoa processing was 183,731 MT, up...
Five million, mainly small-scale farmers produce 75% of the world’s cocoa, and earning a living income has become the key objective for the cocoa sector. Still, despite various initiatives, it hasn’t changed core business practices so far. According to...
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) marked half a century of commitment to sustainable growth in the cocoa sector with a special celebration held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, where it is now headquartered.
To mark World Cocoa & Chocolate Day (which took place on 1 October) Magnum ice cream has released more details on its female empowerment programme, upscaling the work to reach thousands of additional women throughout cocoa communities in the West...
The Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI), a collaboration between governments and chocolate companies, has announced significant strides toward its mission of eradicating deforestation in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Platform for Sustainable Cocoa in Cote d'Ivoire (PICD) and the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform (GCCP) are calling on their respective governments to raise the price of beans for the important 2023-24 season to make sure farmers can receive a living...
Ghana has announced a state-guaranteed cocoa price paid to its farmers of 20,943 Ghana cedi ($1,837) per tonne for the new 2023-2024 season – an increase of more than 63% in a bid to boost their income and prevent beans from being smuggled to neighbouring...
Cocoa traded on ICE Futures in New York hit a 12-year high of $3,640.50 per tonne on Wednesday (30 August), as analysts reacted to a consumer surge in chocolate, as well as the adverse impacts of the El Niño weather phenomenon on West Africa’s cocoa crop.
A coalition of campaigners fighting to end environmental and human rights abuses in the cocoa sector has targeted coffee chain Starbucks to come clean on where it sources the ingredients for its chocolate products.
As new research reveals that deforestation in the world’s largest cocoa-growing country could be far more worse than originally predicted, a White Paper published by Barry Callebaut looks how to tackle productivity on cocoa farms to end the cycle of unsustainable...
Cote d’Ivoire’s main cocoa crop (October to March) has been buoyed by above-average rain, with farmers pleased by the number of cherelles, or pods, already on the trees.
Nestlé has published a progress report on its Income Accelerator Program, launched at the beginning of 2022 in Cote d’Ivoire, to support cocoa farmers in Côte d'Ivoire and incentivise them into greater productivity.
Cocoa bean processing in North America has slumped almost 12% in the second quarter, according to figures released by the National Confectioners Association, the lowest in almost 15 years for that period, while in Europe and Asia, factories ground the...
In latest market news reduced cocoa supplies from Cote d’Ivoire after recent heavy rains saw ICE NY cocoa on Monday close +7 (+0.21%), and Sep ICE London cocoa #7 closed +16 (+0.74%).
Recent bad weather in West Africa has threatened cocoa production resulting in record-high prices for the commodity on the Intercontinental Exchange in London.
Nestlé is driving a fresh incentive to protect the Cavally Forest, which lies adjacent to cocoa production areas in western Cote d'Ivoire, and is one of the last remaining dense forests and a primary biodiversity spot threatened by deforestation.
With supply concerns heightened by recent flooding in some of Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa farms, there are concerns it could affect the start of the next October-to-March main crop, farmers told local media at the beginning of the week, while NY cocoa prices...
Fairtrade has launched a new programme to support its certified Ivorian and Ghanaian cocoa cooperatives to strengthen prevention and remediation of child labour and forced labour.
I have spent close to 30 years working on the ground in West Africa alongside rural communities, including cocoa-growing communities. In that time, I have learned a lot about why deforestation happens in the first place and the most effective ways we...
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has widened its deficit forecast for the current 2022-23 (October-September) season to 142,000 tonnes, up from 60,000 tonnes previously.
Both countries’ economies have been ‘hit hard by the triple shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, global financial tightening, and adverse spillovers from Russia’s war in Ukraine’.
