May 2012 C&CI • Cocoa World • 15


West Africa ICI welcomes EU action on child labour


International Stocks reach five-year highs


McQuarie Research says cocoa stocks in ICE US warehouses reached a five-year high, at over 5.3 million bags, as of March 27th. "With Easter buying demand for cocoa now


over, we will go through a seasonally lower grind- ings period over the next few months, before it picks up again in the third quarter," said McQuarie. "Grinders appear to be well covered though,


The ICI says it welcomes possible EU action on child labour in the cocoa sector


The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) says it welcomes the European Parliament Trade Committee’s Motion for a Resolution on child labour in cocoa growing, and its call on partners of the International Cocoa Agreement to support supply chain improve- ments. The resolution recognises the significant progress obtained by


programmes and initiatives to combat the worst forms of child labour on West African cocoa farms, but calls on all stakeholders involved to strengthen collaboration in order to establish a sustain- able, child labour-free cocoa supply chain. "The ICI shares this view, and believes that these complex prob-


lems can only be effectively tackled through the collective, co- ordinated and consistent efforts of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in the cocoa supply-chain", said the ICI in a statement. "We therefore welcome the recognition by the Parliament that


‘only a holistic and co-ordinated framework that addresses the root causes of child labour, implemented in the long-run by gov- ernments, industry, traders, producers and civil society can deliver significant changes".


Vietnam


Cargill launches Project Management Unit


Cargill and the cocoa Public-Private Partnership (PPP), which includes the Vietnamese government, the government of The Netherlands, Rabobank Foundation, other commercial participants including Mars Incorporated, and NGOs, have jointly established a cocoa Project Management Unit (PMU) in the country. The cocoa PMU, which comes under the responsibility of the


Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), is dedicated to strengthening the long-term growth of sustainable cocoa development in Vietnam. It will complement Cargill’s Sustainable Cocoa


Programme. Roast and ground coffee seems to be gaining market share in countries such as the UK and Russia


and we don’t expect to see much price support from them. Rather, the market will trade West African weather ahead of the mid-crop, which still looks a little dry for comfort. Generally, though, we think the global cocoa market will be comfortably in balance this season, and US$2,300- 2,500/tonne represents fair value in our opinion."


Ecuador


Floods cause problems Ecuador, Latin America’s second-largest cocoa pro- ducer, will lose about a quarter of its crop this year as floods damage plants and delay harvests, an export group said. According to a Reuters report, production will probably


decline by about 40,000 tonnes to 130,000 tonnes. The country’s first harvest will be postponed two months, until June, Luis Acosta, chief executive officer at Exportaciones Acmansa CA, said.


Indonesia


Armajaro UTZ Certified Armajaro Trading Limited has become the first UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa trader in Indonesia, in a partner- ship programme with Nestlé under the Nestlé Cocoa Plan. The programme was established to train


Indonesian farmers to UTZ certification standards over a period of four years. So far, 67 farmer groups have already completed training, and 1,176 tonnes of UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa has been produced to date in West Sulawesi, Indonesia. The programme’s aim is to train 150 farmer groups by 2014. Nicko Debenham, Director for Development &


Sustainability at Armajaro Trading Limited said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Nestlé. The UTZ Certification is a testament to the commitment we are showing to improve farmer liveli- hoods. These projects pave the way for long-term, sustainable cocoa production, whilst enhancing farmers’ business prospects and local communities."


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