On October 3rd, 2018, the French Chocolate Manufacturers’ Association brought together all the industry’s main actors to discuss and debate the major challenges affecting the sector: producer low income, fight against deforestation, climate change …

After the opening speeches by Patrick Poirrier (President of the Chocolate Manufacturers’ Association), Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (Secretary of State for Europe and Foreign Affairs) and Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly (Minister of Agriculture and rural development of Côte d’Ivoire), BASIC had the opportunity to present its analysis of the socio-economic and environmental issues of the cocoa sector to introduce the 1st round table of debates.

Based on the results of its comparative study published in 2016 on the value chains of chocolate sold in France and produced from Ivorian and Peruvian cocoa, this presentation was an opportunity to recall the close links between the commercial dynamics in consumer countries, and the issues of low income of cocoa farmers, social precariousness, child labor and deforestation in producing countries.

It also enabled BASIC to outline a path forward towards a paradigm shift in the cocoa sector, a necessary condition for solving the socio-environmental problems at the root, through:

• a better valorization of the origin of cocoa in order to create more value and allow for a decent remuneration of producers covering their costs of production and the essential needs of their families,
• the support of grassroots producer organizations,
• investments in essential public services in cocoa communities
• the promotion of agroforestry models of cocoa production and the protection of biodiversity

For more details, see our report “The dark side of chocolate” published in 2016