Financial agri services group Rabobank predicts cocoa futures will remain above $3,000 per metric ton until after Côte D’Ivoire’s October general election.
PepsiCo’s new report on its sugarcane supply chain in Brazil and the impact it has on land rights has been welcomed with caution and some critique by Oxfam.
Cocoa grinds in North America have fallen 9% in the second quarter and remain flat in Europe as cocoa processors lose profitability and developed market economies harm chocolate consumption.
The UK government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has ditched a 10% upper limit on sugar intake instead recommending that less than 5% of daily energy should come from free sugars.
Yeast species used in the beer, wine and bread industries can also be used in cocoa fermentation to create unique flavors for chocolate confectionery, say Belgian researchers.
A growing trend for sustainability certifications and on pack ‘branding’ could mean manufacturers are missing the wider point of sustainability issues and may confuse consumers so much they no longer care.
Dark chocolate often steals the spotlight for health claims, but new research suggests milk chocolate, which is sweeter, fattier and more popular, could offer the same benefits in high doses.
Euromonitor International expects more chocolate makers will take vertical control of their supply chains by acquiring commodity suppliers as prices continue to climb.
Cocoa farmers are largely excluded from decision making in the chocolate industry’s efforts to boost cocoa productivity but have a right to be heard, says a new international farmer’s organization aiming to stand up for disaffected voices.
The National Confectioners Association has hit back at U.S. senators it says mischaracterized the chocolate industry’s efforts on preventing labor rights abuses on cocoa farms in West Africa. But some Fair Trade chocolate companies say industry is being...
U.S. chocolate manufacturers would forgo buying cocoa from Côte d’Ivoire if a case against three major cocoa processors succeeds, warns a dissenting judge.
Colombian authorities have launched a Great Cocoa and Chocolate Alliance (GCCA) platform in Bogotá this month, to boost exports from the country’s cocoa and confectionery industries and increase their share of global chocolate markets.
Researchers from the Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona Western College (AWC) concluded that dark chocolate confections containing only moderate amounts (60%) of cacao have an acute stimulating effect on the human brain and vasoconstrictive...
The industry-backed platform CocoaAction has partnered with the Jacob’s Foundation for a $52m education program for cocoa growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire, where the majority of young people fail to complete primary school.
The chocolate industry can curtail extreme poverty in the cocoa sector by implementing higher prices that can be passed from consumers to farmers, says Puratos Grand-Place.
Special edition: Beyond 2020 - The future of sustainable cocoa
Asia is poised to help meet rising demand for cocoa, but its key producer Indonesia faces quality concerns and its government lacks incentive to grow the sector.
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.
Dispatches from Asia Choco Cocoa Congress in Singapore
Vietnamese state-owned companies plan to convert some coffee and rubber plantations to cocoa, delivering a significant boost to the country’s annual output, says Vietnam’s principle cocoa buyer Puratos Grand-Place.
Multinationals chocolate companies and the public and private sector will come together this week to assess the future of cocoa sustainability in Asia and how to capitalize on rising chocolate demand in the reg
Nestlé has filed an international patent for cocoa polyphenols as a treatment or prevention of eosinophilic esophagitis – an allergic reaction of the esophagus.
Nestlé has implemented a child labor prevention system that goes further to detect and stamp out the practice than existing methods, according to its implementing partner the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), which says it could become the industry...
Barry Callebaut has outgrown the chocolate confectionery market in its half-year results, but its cocoa ingredients arm continues to be hampered by low cocoa ratios.
By Antoine Boudib, Managing Director, Akuafo Adamfo Marketing Company Ltd, a Finatrade Company
Cocoa buying companies are the main intermediaries between the chocolate industry and farmers and should not be forgotten in the pursuit of sustainable cocoa, writes one of the largest licensed cocoa buyers in West Africa Finatrade.
The chocolate industry must commit to longer sourcing agreements if it expects farmers to be able to invest in cocoa productivity and quality, according to a leading farming cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire.
Empowering women in small-hold agriculture is essential to boosting productivity, creating new product launches and generating business - and companies are starting to realise this, says a Fairtrade Foundation report.
Barry Callebaut has employed techniques similar to those used in the Belgian beer industry to develop a yeast for controlled cocoa fermentation that it claims will lead to better tasting chocolate.
The food industry has criticised the WHO’s recommendation to reduce the intake of added sugar for being backed by ‘moderate’ and ‘very low quality’ evidence.
The world’s third largest grinder Olam has inaugurated a cocoa processing factory in San Pedro that partly runs on energy created from waste cocoa shells.
Chocolate manufacturers have made great strides in cocoa sustainability, but are fixated on boosting productivity and can do far more to ensure cocoa farmers receive a living income, according to a report by NGOs.
Divine Chocolate says multinationals are escaping fuller Fairtrade commitments under the certification body’s new rules. But Fairtrade says its sourcing program is the only way to reach cocoa farmers at scale.
International chocolatiers are showing increased interest in Haitian cocoa, providing rural Haitians a livelihood in cocoa farming after the country’s 2010 Earthquake, says a Federation of farming cooperatives.
Non-profit As You Sow has accused Hershey, Mars and See’s Candies of failing to label lead and cadmium content in chocolate contrary to Californian law.
Mondelēz International plans to eventually source its entire cocoa supply from its Cocoa Life sustainability program, but says setting deadlines won't lead to meaningful impact on the ground.
We must follow the example of Sweden and bring together the two “very noisy” movements of workers' trade unions and Fairtrade, the CEO of Fairtrade International Harriet Lamb has said.
