Neighbouring West African states account for over 60% of global cocoa supplies, but have threatened to name and shame chocolate brands trying to avoid paying the LID, a $400-per-tonne premium, which goes to their farmers.
Dutch disruptor brand Tony’s Chocolonely - that is on 'a mission to make 100% slave free chocolate the norm' - has urged EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders to introduce a law requiring human rights due diligence in companies’ supply chains.
Barry Callebaut brand Cabosse Naturals is launching a line of ‘next gen’ ingredients for snacks, drinks and ice cream that utilise the whole cacao fruit, while Cacao Barry, also part of Barry Callebaut, is rolling out a WholeFruit chocolate offering....
In our latest podcast interview, we talked to Freek van der Knaap, Van Houten’s Vice-President Vending & Beverages EMEA, about the launch of ruby as a chocolate drink powder, which is aimed at professionals working in the catering and confectionery...
A coalition of global civil societies has renewed its calls for the elimination of child labour in the cocoa industry - in both consuming and producing nations.
The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) has launched a new strategy to take it up to 2026 with the aim of scaling up action across the entire cocoa supply chain in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, and building on lessons learned and progress made over the past...
Announced earlier in the year, The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre's (DMCC) Cacao Centre is set to launch in summer with plans to make the Emirati city a global hub for trade in cocoa beans.
Cocoa prices continue to struggle, despite an increase in grindings reported in North America and Southeast Asia and is still ‘the worst performing commodity of the year,’ according to some analysts.
Luxury chocolate maker has announced it has reached “an important milestone,” after claiming that 100% of its cocoa beans are traceable after being externally verified by non-profit organisation, Earthworm Foundation.
Biochar, known as ‘agriculture's black gold’ is made from agricultural waste, such as weeds, leaves and cocoa pods, and can be used as a natural fertilizer to improve soil quality.
The European Union has held its second Cocoa Roundtable Dialogue with Ghanaian stakeholders to discuss the environmental sustainability of cocoa production, while Cote d’Ivoire says quick compliance with broad legislation may pose challenges.
Ethan Budiansky, the World Cocoa Foundation’s Director of Environment, shares some of the findings from the CFI’s latest reports and explains why ‘getting more trees in the ground’ is important.
Colombian B4B chocolate manufacturer Luker Chocolate has received a Transformadores Award from RedEAmérica for its work supporting cocoa farmers and their communities via The Cacao Effect alliance.
The use of Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) to tackle child labour is expanding in the cocoa sector, and a new study by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) provides a common operational definition of a CLMRS and sets out key...
Barry Parkin, the company's Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer, is set to meet with members of the cocoa industry and the governments of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire this week to discuss the Living Income Differential (LID) and to underscore...
The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and its members are pledging to scale up efforts in the fight against child labour, covering 540,000 cocoa-growing households in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana by the end of this year.
The network also asks EU to step in and support cocoa farmers with human rights and environmental rights due diligence regulations, as Conseil du Café-Cacao says it will reimburse exporters affected by Living Income Differential payments.
The influential Cocoa Barometer, a biennial review of sustainability in the cocoa sector, is now available in French, Spanish and Dutch - in addition to the original language English version – to represent the major languages where cocoa is grown, traded...
Divine Chocolate’s adult literacy and numeracy programme, which helps cocoa-growing communities in West Africa, has revealed it has so far helped 235 farmers to read and write - 171 of which are women.
The world's largest food and beverage companies and their suppliers must do more to create an equitable and sustainable food system for all, says Oxfam.
Increased output from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, along with decline in European cocoa bean usage due to the resurgence of COVID-19 infections means a production surplus projected in the 2020-21 season, with cocoa futures on the commodities market underperforming...
Company also announces strategic partnership with Save the Children through a €8m project to further scale and strengthen activities to protect children.
The German confectionery industry has estimated it will make more than 214 million chocolate bunnies this Easter, with over 70% from sustainable cocoa.
Organisers have announced that the fifth World Cocoa Conference which was scheduled to take place this year from 23 to 26 May, has been moved to 2022, because of the ongoing global health emergency following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Company said its Veliche gourmet brand will include two dynamic Signature Origins dark couverture chocolates with cocoa from El Salvador and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Memorandum of Understanding signed by Dutch Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, Belgium’s Beyond Chocolate, the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa and the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa agreeing to closer collaboration, Chocoa21 delegates told.
Following reports of serious issues in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana’s cocoa supply chains, the EU and the US Labor Department have both announced financial aid to help the two countries.
Following recent news that The European Union will contribute €25m to boost the sustainability of cocoa production in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon, the first session at this year’s Chocoa21 conference, held online from Amsterdam, could turn...
Responsible design of supply and value chains and sustainability are important issues for the German confectionery industry, as it calls again for EU-wide legislation.
ConfectioneryNews talks to Wouter Stomph, North America Head of Ingredient Development & Innovation, Olam Cocoa, on the latest confectionery trends and why celebrating cocoa as an ingredient in its own right will play a significant part.
In its latest Monthly Cocoa Market Report, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has revealed that anticipations of a production surplus compounded with low levels of demand have contributed to the decline in prices in cocoa from January 2021 on...
UPL, a global leader in sustainable agriculture products and solutions, announced it has joined the European Cocoa Association (ECA) as an associate member. We talk to Florent Clair, UPL’s Sustainability Co-Ordinator, about the company's long history...
In its latest update, the ICCO’s (International Cocoa Organization) assessment of European cocoa bean stocks for the 2019/20 season held in the continent’s warehouses reveals a reduction of 1.5% (down by 11,734 tonnes), compared with the previous season.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), in partnership with the French institution Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), has announced its second edition of the International Symposium on Cocoa Research (ISCR) will take...
Cote d’Ivoire has announced it has appointed a senor corporate director from Mars Wrigley to help implement the $400 a tonne Living Income Differential (LID) scheme to increase farmer income and introduced by the country in a joint partnership with Ghana...
The Dominican Republic National Chocolate Festival has announced winners of its first chocolate competition, which attracted over 40 entries in three categories: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and experimental chocolate.
The Accessible Soils And Sustainable Environments (ASASE) will be working towards tackling deforestation and working to rehabilitate ageing cocoa farms and restore the country’s natural forests.
Dutch ethical brand Tony’s Chocolonely is inviting international chocolate makers to join its transparent supply chain platform in order to create a more sustainable cocoa industry.
With Veganuary in full swing and more popular than ever, Paul Morris, Luker Chocolate’s UK sales manager, chats to ConfectioneryNews about the 123-year-old family run company and its single origin Cacao Fino de Aroma.
When it comes to cocoa and chocolate, sustainability is taking on increased importance, influencing consumers’ purchase decisions and their perceptions of the brands they buy, new research from Cargill finds.
I am a cocoa farmer: Daniel Aboagye, Western Region, Ghana
In the third of her occasional 'I am a cocoa farmer series', cocoa scholar Kristy Leissle talks to Daniel Aboagye, who is not only a farmer but a recorder, or purchasing clerk, for the Kuapa Kokoo licensed cocoa buying company (LBC), so he has...
Cote d’Ivoire has announced it has lifted its suspension on cocoa sustainability schemes run by Hershey, in the latest twist in the ‘cheap beans’ row that has threatened to jeopardise the delicate relationship between the big chocolate companies and cocoa-growing...
BLC has launched a shea-based premium cocoa butter equivalent. It says the nutritionally balanced ingredient will support food manufacturers to meet consumer demand for health-conscious and sustainable options that don’t compromise on taste and quality.
Sales of Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa crop are the worst in decades, industry sources say, as COVID-19 drives down global demand for chocolate and the controversial Living Income Differential (LID) increases the price of its, and neighbouring Ghana’s, cocoa...
After two decades of failed interventions across the cocoa sector, cocoa farming communities are still battling the effects of poverty, child labour and deforestation, the new report highlights.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have carried out their threat to cancel Hershey’s cocoa sustainability schemes in their countries, accusing the US giant of trying to avoid paying the cocoa Living Income Differential (LID) premium aimed at combating farmer poverty...
