COCOA AND ETHICAL SOURCING
interventions are virtually non-existent … The price premiums paid by companies are too low to make a significant difference in farmers’ incomes … Without more pronounced and ambitious efforts by companies, a living income will remain an illusion for most farmers across companies’ cocoa supply chains.” EC argues that despite their sustainability
claims, many big chocolate brands are dragging their feet when it comes to improving conditions for cocoa farmers. The Ivory Coast and Ghana governments accuse chocolate companies of doing ‘everything possible’ to prevent the cost of cocoa from increasing, and even trying to drive it back down. According to Oxfam, there are two clear
options for big companies who want to take meaningful action towards a living wage for cocoa farmers. These are: • Honour the Living Income Differential (LID): Companies’ public statements of support for the LID have, according to Oxfam, “not been shared by their procurement teams” with companies using bargaining power to offset the higher costs. • Honour the Fairtrade Living Income
Reference Price (LIRP) model for cocoa: This means making additional payments to farmers to enable a living income. According to Oxfam, Tony’s Chocolonely is the only company to have adopted this at large scale.
Tony’s promise With the price of cocoa rising in both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in 2023, Tony’s Chocolonely recently pointed out that cocoa farmers are still not being paid enough. It has reported that, even though prices are up, farmers are still not earning a Living Income Reference Price (LIRP), which is what they need to move out of poverty. Tony’s Chocolonely is continuing to pay cocoa farmers a higher price for their cocoa – 18% more in Ghana and 44% more in Côte d’Ivoire.
It promises to always pay the LIRP for all
the cocoa it purchases, believing that the LIRP is essential for structurally lifting cocoa farmers out of poverty – which is the root cause of modern slavery and child labour. Even with the price increases, the LIRP is still a lot higher than the national prices for cocoa. To make up the difference, Tony’s Chocolonely will be paying an additional $316 per metric ton in Ghana and an extra $714 in Côte d’Ivoire. Happily, Tony’s is not the only company
The ethics of sourcing for cocoa and chocolate need to consider the social, economic and environmental
consequences of its production”
paying the LIRP, with more companies joining its Open Chain – an industry-led initiative that aims to help chocolate companies fight against exploitation in cocoa. By becoming a ‘Mission Ally’, companies agree to follow Tony’s Chocolonely Five Sourcing Principles
44 Kennedy’s Confection December/January 2023/24
for sourcing fairer chocolate which includes paying a higher price for cocoa. Huel, Pleese and Dutch department store Hema are the most recent companies joining the ranks of Ben & Jerry’s, ALDI and Jokolade.
KennedysConfection.com
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