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...
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 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...
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 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...
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 country’s cocoa production sector is under serious threat with climate change, disease, moribund farms, overaged tree stock, an aging farmer population, and an acute labour shortage, just some of the issues affecting productivity … that is why we...
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...
Charity calls for ‘Big Chocolate’ to pay more to Ghana’s cocoa farmers after it revealed that their net incomes have fallen on average by 16% since 2020, with women’s incomes falling by nearly 22%.
Mars Wrigley has declared that from 2023, 100% of the cocoa purchased for its direct factory operations in Europe will be verified as ‘responsibly sourced cocoa’.
ofi (olam food ingredients), a global leader in naturally good food and beverage ingredients, says it has substantially advanced towards the climate goals stated in its Cocoa Compass sustainability report – but issued a call for the EU to work with other...
Swiss-Ghanaian start-up Koa has secured two major investments to scale up its impact in the cocoa sector by successfully completing its Series A round raising a total of $4.7 million in equity – and a $3.5 million investment from climate adaptation and...
The World Cocoa Farmers Organization (WCFO) is asking Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to reconsider setting a minimum cocoa price, while the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) is suprised the price was not higher.
Farmer organizations will be guaranteed a higher price for cocoa sales on Fairtrade terms, as part of foundation’s strategy towards enabling living incomes it said. Changes will come into effect October 2019.
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.
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.
Nestlé Cocoa Plan has come out top in a report by Stop the Traffik and Baptist World Aid Australia assessing the progress made by chocolate companies and certification organizations in tackling child labor in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
A dozen of the world's biggest confectioners have signed up to the World Cocoa Foundation’s CocoaAction - something the organisation says will join the dots of existing sustainability programmes.
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.
Flour made from cassava can be up to half the price of regular wheat flour, holding great promise for bakers amid commodity volatility, says the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Finnish company Fazer has set a target to certify its entire cocoa supply by 2017 to ensure its cocoa comes from traceable sources and is free from the worst forms of child labour.
Barry Callebaut is investing €33.2 (CHF 40m) over the next 10 years in a cocoa sustainability initiative it hopes will boost farm productivity, increase quality and improve farmer livelihoods.
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.
Nestlé said it has increased its donations of disease-resistant cocoa trees to farmers in Ivory Coast in a bid to boost the quality of the beans that are produced in the country.
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.
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.
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.
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.
World Vision Australia said it has taken the decision to pause campaigning activities aimed at chocolate-based product manufacturer, Arnott’s, for a six month period in response to the company publicly committing to addressing potential labour exploitation...
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.
A confectionery association has joined forces with the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) to improve the lot of cocoa growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and help ensure a sustainable supply.
Troubles for West African cocoa supplies look set to continue following reports that the harmattan, a harsh, crop-damaging wind, has begun to sweep in from the Sahara.
With sustainability a buzz word for today's confectionery makers, a symposium that kicked off in Ghana today will attempt to get to grips with current issues impacting sustainability in Africa's cocoa supply chain.
Beating the high costs linked to the price of wheat flour on
today's market, bakers in the African country of Ghana can now
access a cheaper alternative produced with cassava and maize.
Swiss chocolate company Barry Callebaut is to purchase a 60 per
cent share of Malaysia's KL Kepong Cocoa Products in a move
designed to increase its sourcing capacity in Asia.
