A raft of promises and reports were published on this year’s World Day Against Child Labor, highlighting the extent of forced labor in the cocoa industry with calls for greater transparency to help solve the problem.
The chocolate industry should support community-led buffer zones between tropical rainforest and cocoa farms to improve uneasy relations between farmers and their elephant neighbours, says a park manager in Ghana.
The president of the World Cocoa Foundation and Mondelēz’s Cocoa Life director discuss how the chocolate industry will tackle calls to guarantee cocoa farmers a living income.
The chocolate industry must look beyond cocoa alone to avert another big drop in cocoa prices, says the organizer of chocolate festival and cocoa conference Chocoa.
Sourcing to fair trade standards, such as UTZ, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade, is an important first step for chocolate makers towards cocoa sustainability, but will not necessarily bring farmers out of extreme poverty, say supply chain actors.
Chocolate companies should rethink cocoa sustainability programs to reverse low adoption rates for training and technology, says The Scientific Committee of the International Symposium on Cocoa Research.
Cocoa trader Touton has partnered with Ghanaian government agency Cocobod to curb deforestation in Ghana, where cocoa is the main driver of 3.2% of protected forest loss each year.
Significant progress is being made to combat unlawful child labor, but Indonesia’s declining crop and the falling cocoa price remain major challenges, says Mars' head of procurement.
Traceability from farm to first purchase, common definitions of protected areas and paying farmers a living income are three ways stakeholders say can help end cocoa-driven deforestation in West Africa, which is threatening endangered species.
EU confectionery trade body Caobisco is encouraging its members to set a date by which they will source all cocoa and palm oil from a certified sustainable source.
A lawyer representing six alleged child slaves working in cocoa in a class action against Nestlé, ADM and Cargill says the ramifications of the case on the chocolate industry could be huge.
Special Edition: Beyond 2020 - The future of sustainable cocoa
The chocolate industry must ramp up support for good agricultural practices on existing cocoa farmland or else rainforest will be chopped down to make way for new plantations and it may face supply constraints, say stakeholders.
Special edition: Beyond 2020 - The future of sustainable cocoa
Rising temperatures could seriously change where cocoa is grown in the next half-century and global output could be threatened if the chocolate industry does nothing to protect its key crop.
The International Cocoa Organization has quelled media reports of a chocolate crisis in 2020 and says there are sufficient cocoa stocks for the next five years.
Research on mice has added to a growing body of evidence that cocoa improves metabolism, but it is too soon to suggest that chocolate fights obesity, according to the lead researcher.
Ritter Sport has purchased land for a cocoa plantation in Nicaragua to eventually cover 30% of its cocoa needs and give it greater control of its supply.
When it comes to putting sustainability promises in to practice, it is vital that industry understands the key issues that affect different regions, says Job Leuning of Cargill.
By Han De Groot, executive director at UTZ Certified,
Chocolate could become a small and expensive niche product unless we all do more to help cocoa farmers escape poverty, writes UTZ Certified executive director Han De Groot.
NGO STOP THE TRAFFIK has accused Mondelēz International of lagging behind its rivals by attempting to self-regulate child trafficking in the cocoa sector.
The chocolate industry should embrace certification to improve the livelihoods of farmers or risk losing a generation of cocoa growers, according to the head of a Fairtrade cocoa cooperative in the Ivory Coast.
A cocoa butter replacer derived from mango seed fat and palm stearin could help chocolate withstand high temperatures and may benefit manufacturers in tropical countries, according to a study.
Corporate sustainability programs do not go far enough to stamp out child labor on cocoa farms - only third party certification will do, says a new campaign.
Sourcing cocoa from certified farms can minimise incidence of child labour, but if that’s enough, why else should chocolate manufacturers commit to third-party certification?
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.
It will take every tool in the box to combat the effect of climate change on cocoa production, warn industry experts following the publication of research into the impact of rising temperatures on farmers in West Africa.
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.
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.
Cargill’s takeover of Schwartauer KVB has been cleared by the European Commission, giving the US giant the green light to phase in the operations of the German semi-finished cocoa supplier.
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.
As the market and industry weighs the impact of turmoil in Ivory Coast on cocoa supply and tightness in sugar trade continues, we talk to Rabobank analyst Keith Flury to see whether there will be any let up in commodity commotion in 2011.
A novel cocoa cultivation method and a new approach to fermentation are resulting in cocoa beans with enhanced quality, claims industrial chocolate supplier, Barry Callebaut.
Lack of clarity on the implications for the cocoa industry of the financial penalities imposed by the EU on the Ivory Coast has prompted trade representatives in the bloc to seek additional information from the Commission.
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.
A breakthrough in cocoa genetics by a collaboration involving Mars, USDA and IBM will accelerate research into the production of trees that can better resist drought, disease and pests, and has met with an enthusiastic welcome from leading cocoa scientists...
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.
The reported purchase of 240,100 tonnes of cocoa on the London futures market by a sole trader will not impact hugely on supply to industry, as cocoa processors have already shored up bean stocks for the next four months, claims the International Cocoa...
A new cocoa buying station in Vietnam will support an ongoing programme of cocoa farming expertise transfer and shows the high expectations Cargill has for cocoa development in the country, said the industry chocolate supplier.
An initiative to improve the agricultural, environmental and social aspects of sourcing cocoa from West Africa achieved has achieved a milestone, as the first beans have arrived in Europe for processing.
Broadening its portfolio of origin sources for cocoa formulations, private label player Natra will buy 50 tonnes of cocoa from Colombian co-operatives that have switched from cocaine to cocoa cultivation.
