Cocoa certification brings more advantages than disadvantages for farmers and communities as improved yields and pay outweigh rule differences among certifiers and potentially unequal payments, a study has found.
New chocolate powerhouse Mondelez International will be the next major player to come under the spotlight over child labor on cocoa farms in Africa and will face pressure from NGOs to source 100% certified cocoa.
Barry Callebaut has announced that it is to spend $1 million (€833,000) on a Center of Cocoa Excellence in the Ivory Coast in a bid to double cocoa yields from farms in the key growing region.
The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) anticipates a lower than expected global cocoa shortage in the 2011/12 season due to ideal weather conditions and higher grinds in some cocoa producing countries.
A larger than expected supply of cocoa beans from West Africa will add to high buffer stocks and push cocoa prices down by 4%, according to financial service provider Rabobank.
Cocoa production in Germany has risen by 36% on the same quarter last year due to an improved political situation in Ivory Coast, according to the Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI).
ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) Cocoa has extended its Unicao range of cocoa liquors produced from Ivory Coast cocoa beans, for use in premium milk and dark chocolate products.
Global confectionery supplier Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is injecting US$4.4m (€3m) into its Ivory Coast cocoa programme as the country tries to recover from its recent civil turmoil and an EU ban on one of the region’s most important exports.
Cargill’s drive to secure a good quality and sustainable supply of cocoa beans is filtering down to famers in Cote d'Ivoire as it has just made premium payments totalling more than US $2.2m.
Cocoa and chocolate products supplier Barry Callebaut has confirmed reports that it plans to upgrade grinding capacity at one of its cocoa processing plants in Ivory Coast from 105,000 to 175,000 tonnes a year.
There will be no dramatic drop in cocoa prices in the coming months as forecast by numerous speculators hoping to cash in on a downward trend, reports a cocoa market specialist.
Indonesia is the focus of an extension of Nestlé’s sustainable Cocoa Plan initiative, with the Swiss food group aiming to pump $4m (€2.7m) into bean production in that country.
Cargill’s Cocoa and Chocolate division is rolling out its Ivory Coast UTZ certification farmer training programme in Cameroon - a move the processor anticipates will dramatically boost sustainable cocoa output in the fourth largest producer country.
Confectionery giant Mars predicts a major cocoa shortage by 2020 and reveals harmonization of global cocoa certification programmes to ensure meaningful income hikes for farmers is one of its sustainable cocoa project goals.
Lacklustre demand for cocoa in Europe and North America and expectations of an average crop next season will see cocoa prices remain steady over the coming months, claims a market analyst.
Leading cocoa processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has announced it is kick-starting its Ivory Coast sustainable cocoa initiative – Serap – in Indonesia in a bid to boost cocoa quality from growers in that region.
Barry Callebaut reports that it has resumed its exports from the Ivory Coast, following the recent resolution of the six-month long political crisis in the West African cocoa powerhouse.
Ivory Coast’s cocoa trade has been normalised, but uncertainly remains about the mid-crop, and and all eyes are now on the weather for the main crop, to be harvested this autumn, notes commodities specialist Rabobank it its latest review.
Ivory Coast cocoa exports are unlikely to resume by this week, said Mintel, in response to reports that the country will start shipping the commodity from the beginning of May.
Another milestone has been achieved in the UTZ certified sustainable cocoa programme, with the first-ever shipment of cocoa beans from Ghana that meets that standard’s economic, environmental and social criteria.
The food industry and cocoa traders have welcomed the EU decision to lift sanctions on the Ivory Coast ports and other Ivorian entities following an end to the crisis in the cocoa growing country.
Fears that almost 500,000 tonnes of cocoa beans stored in warehouses in the Ivory Coast would deteriorate are now subsiding with the perception that a political resolution is imminent in the cocoa growing country, according to Rabobank
There is still sufficient cocoa available on the market, despite political turmoil in the Ivory Coast situation, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) said yesterday, although there are concerns over cocoa damage over long storage periods.
The recent Ghana-Liberia agriculture pact is unlikely to have a major impact on the global cocoa industry; whereas Nigeria is a region to watch, according to Euromonitor.
Barry Callebaut has a contingency plan in place in light of ongoing Ivory Coast turmoil and has stepped up production at its cocoa processing facilities elsewhere to meet its customers’ needs.
Leading cocoa processor and exporter, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), said it has suspended cocoa plant operations in the Ivory Coast and is shifting production elsewhere, due to heightened political tensions in the West African producer country.
Leading cocoa supplier, Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM), has confirmed that it is keeping its cocoa processing plant in Kumasi, Ghana open in spite of challenges related to acquiring light crop beans for processing.
Leading maker of bulk chocolate, Barry Callebaut, has bought and exported the cocoa beans it needs to fulfill its processing needs, said a company spokesperson in reaction to the suspension of Ivory Coast exports.
Delivery of cocoa bean supplies to ports in the Ivory Coast appears to be unaffected by the recent political turmoil following last month’s election in the West African country.
With a larger crop and only modest growth in use, prices are expected to fall in 2011, according to Rabobank in its latest Agri Commodity market report. However further escalation of conflict in the Ivory Coast could send cocoa prices higher.
Rabobank has warned that cocoa prices will respond if there is a return to civil war in the Ivory Coast as this could impede cocoa exports onto the world market.
Participation in ADM’s cocoa growing certification programme - Serap - has tripled since its implementation and it has provided almost 49,000 metric tonnes of sustainable cocoa in the period, said the cocoa processor as it conducts a review of the programme...
Cargill said its planned investment of $5m over the next three years in sustainable cocoa initiatives will help address the worst forms of child labour in cocoa growing communities in the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Olam International is planning to invest $43.5m to build its first, large greenfield cocoa processing plant in the Ivory Coast as well as additional primary processing and warehouse facilities.
Opting for fair trade cocoa could be one way for food firms to protect themselves against price volatility for the commodity, according to an industry analyst.
Recent cocoa bean price volatility is due in large part to hedge funds attracted by quick returns taking short-term positions on the commodity, according to a leading analyst.
Cocoa fell to a three month low in London on signs that supplies in the world’s biggest producer countries would be boosted by the better crop husbandry initiated over the past three years.
Observer status for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on a new cocoa industry consultative board is proving a sticking point at the UN Cocoa Conference in Geneva this week, which aims to finalise the details of a new deal related to trade in the commodity.
Latest data on cocoa output from the world's leading cocoa growers, the Ivory Coast and Ghana, shows that levels are well-below last year, according to Reuters.
