Secrets Of The Cocoa Trade

The Dirt Beneath The Decadence

When we put a piece of chocolate in our mouths we notice the taste - sweet and creamy milk chocolate or the intense cocoa flavour of a really dark chocolate. We notice the way it melts on our tongues and it’s smooth texture. We definitely notice the warm and happy feeling it gives us. We might give a passing thought to how the bar or truffle was made, how the pattern and texture were achieved. For

instance, how do they get the bubbles in Aero? We eat, quite literally, tons of the stuff. Consumption of chocolate in the UK was the third largest in the world in 2020, weighing in at 766,000 tons. But,

I doubt that many of us think about how the chocolate itself was made and how the cocoa used to make it was produced. How often do we consider what it takes to get our favourite treat onto the shelves? Production of cocoa is increasing but achieving a sustainable cocoa economy is a war yet to be won and there’s a lot going on that many consumers would probably prefer not to know.

Billion Dollar Bean

Well, significantly more than that, actually. The estimated annual turnover for the global confectionery and snacks business is worth over $100 billion, with a projection for 2024 of $140 million. Cocoa is a key ingredient in this so you can see why it’s a valuable source of export revenue to producing countries. Cocoa production provides an income for 5 million farmers. However, the realities of the industry are as dark as the cocoa they produce.

Poverty and Slavery

Cocoa is largely grown in the tropics and 90% of global production comes from just seven countries - Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Ecuador, Cameroon, Brazil and Nigeria. You might be imagining huge cocoa plantations but the reality is that the majority of production is carried out by smallholders who have plots of land from just two to five hectares in size. In spite of increasing demand for their product, the majority of farmers are living below the poverty

line in poor living conditions and without access to basic social services. In African cocoa producing countries, only 6% to 8% of the chocolate revenues make it back the farmers. Most cocoa farmers are living on $1 a day. In some regions, this poverty has led to slavery, child labour and even child trafficking in many plantations. Plantations that supply major chocolate brands that we buy from every day - including the Nation’s favourite, Cadburys.

The farmers have neither the resources nor the incentive to implement ethical and environmentally friendly production methods. They have limited ability to access credit and obtain the technology and knowledge of best practices they need to invest in their current plantations. Instead, they often choose to open up new areas of land in order to increase their production. This, of course, leads to another problem - deforestation.

Deforestation and the Climate Crisis

Why does deforestation matter? Here it is in a nutshell, courtesy of Rainforest Alliance -

“When we clear forests, we’re not only knocking out our best ally in capturing the staggering amount of GHGs we humans create (which we do primarily by burning fossil fuels at energy facilities, and of course, in cars, planes, and trains). We’re also creating emissions by cutting down trees: when trees are felled, they release into the atmosphere all the carbon they’ve been storing.

What the deforesters do with the felled trees—either leaving them to rot on the forest floor or burning them—creates further emissions. All told, deforestation on its own causes about 10 percent of worldwide emissions.”

You can read more about deforestation on the Rainforest Alliance website here.

Pests and Disease

The spread of cocoa pests and diseases also has a negative impact on the environment. To counter loses in cocoa production, more natural resources are required - more land equals more deforestation. Plus there’s the common usage of toxic pesticides; bad for the environment, bad for the consumer if traces are left in the harvest and, very bad for the workers who often do not have the necessary training and protective equipment.

The Good News

What I’ve told you about here is just scratching the surface and you can see how much works needs to be done to achieve sustainable production methods and provide cocoa farmers with a living wage. Fortunately, this is now widely acknowledged by the governments of both producer and consumer countries and work is being done to find solutions. For example. in 2017 the world’s leading chocolate and cocoa companies made a commitment to end deforestation in their supply chains, launching the ‘Cocoa and Forests Initiative’.

There’s also a lot of good work being done by NGOs like Rainforest Alliance and UTZ that were originally set up to counter problems in the coffee industry but now cover cocoa and many other products. These two organisations have now officially merged.

What’s UTZ Certification?

You may have noticed that we now state that almost all of the chocolate we use is UTZ Certified but, what does that mean? The UTZ program is reported to be the largest program in the world for sustainable coffee and cocoa farming. It addresses agricultural practices, social and living conditions, farm management and environmental impact. Certification now covers around 10,000 products.

UTZ Certification is based on a code of conduct with which producers must comply. The code covers four areas - farm management, farming practices, social and living conditions

(including a ban on child labour) and the environment. All UTZ certified products are traceable throughout the supply chain to confirm they are genuine. The main criticism of the UTZ program is that it doesn’t interfere with pricing. Negotiations are left to the buyer and seller. Unlike the Fair Trade program, no minimum purchase is set. The focus is on helping the farmers achieve a higher income by generating a higher and better quality yield. You can learn more about UTZ here.

Fair Trade - is it really?

Most of us are aware of Fairtrade International and we tend to have a positive perception of brands that bear their trade mark. We trust that products with the mark are ethical and that the producers and business have involved met the stringent social, economic and environmental standards that Fairtrade sets. However, there are a number of criticisms of the Fair Trade concept.

A concern is that Fair Trade organisations often engage with companies that behave unethically. They also cannot guarantee that Fair Trade certified products will be sold at or

above minimum prices and premiums. Figures provided by Fairtrade International for the period of 2013-2014 show that only 28% of Fair Trade coffee produced during this time frame was actually sold in Fair Trade Markets. A further concern is the price point of Fair Trade products. Prices are significantly higher than the rest of the market making them inaccessible for lower income households. This also prevents them reaching a mass market, meaning that their impact on the incomes of farmers and growers is very small. The 2015-2016 Fairtrade International report showed the economic impact of the Fair Trade scheme on farmers and growers came to less than $0.04 per person per day. More of a token gesture than a way of effecting wide-scale change but, maybe anything is better than nothing. It’s worth noting that the premium price of Fair Trade certified products doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting as premium product. If the quality of, say, a jar of coffee doesn’t merit the price tag customers will turn away.

The Chocolatiers Dilemma

As a chocolatier, I want to offer my customers a high quality, ethically produced product. As a small business owner who wants to make sales, I also need to keep the cost of that product affordable - and still make a profit. Believe me, it’s a constant struggle! Switching to UTZ certified chocolate has increased my costs but it was a move I felt it was important to make and one I thought my customers would appreciate.

I’m also planning to introduce an ethically sourced organic range of chocolate later in the year.

Would You Like to Help?

If so, the obvious way is to consider your buying options and choose products made by ethical companies. Yes, that does include us so here’s a handy shop now button!

If you want to get a bit more involved there are a number of online petitions aimed at stopping child labour. I know some people believe petitions don’t work but action by SumOfUs helped put pressure on Nestle to take action. Again, anything is better than nothing in my book.

Links to Petitions

End Child Exploitation in Cocoa - click here. Ferrero: stop cocoa slavery - click here. Cadburys: stop child labour - click here

(Pro tip - if you’re on a budget and you love dark chocolate, Lidl does bars of 70% chocolate that has Rainforest Alliance approval!)