Cleaning up the chocolate supply chain
This decision is part of a larger legislative package aimed at addressing the risks of deforestation in the supply chains of various commodities, including cattle, timber, coffee, rubber, soy, cocoa, and palm oil (which is also used in chocolate production).
The EU’s efforts to reduce deforestation will have significant impacts on forests, farmers, and chocolate lovers.
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The move is the latest attempt to improve the sustainability of the chocolate supply chain, following voluntary efforts by major chocolate companies to protect forests in cocoa-producing countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, and Nigeria. However, deforestation in these countries has persisted. According to Trase, which tracks the impact of global commodities on forests, Ivory Coast, the leading cocoa exporter, has lost a significant portion of its tropical forests in the last 50 years. Between 2000 and 2019, 2.4 million hectares of forest were cleared to make way for cocoa plantations.
Under the proposed legislation, governments in the countries where the chocolate is sold would be responsible for conducting random checks to ensure compliance.
The legislation is expected to be ratified by the European Parliament soon, with large companies required to begin following the requirements by the end of 2024 and smaller companies given more time. Other countries, such as the United States, are likely to closely observe the impact of this legislation.
The implementation of the proposed legislation will not be easy and could potentially create a two-tiered system, according to Obed Owusu-Addai, a cocoa farmer in Ghana and a campaigner at EcoCare, a local nonprofit organisation. Owusu-Addai fears that only a small number of farmers will be able to comply with the requirements and sell their cocoa at high prices, while many more will be excluded from the supply chain.
Cocoa prices have been steadily decreasing for years, and with rising inflation, including increased transportation costs, farmers have struggled to make ends meet. Incentives to destroy more forests in order to produce more cocoa have increased as a result of low prices.
A recent report by various nonprofit groups suggested that increasing the incomes of farmers could help to protect forests.
Antoine Fountain, head of cocoa sector watchdog group the Voice Network, estimates that only 5 to 6 percent of the price of a chocolate bar goes to the farmer.
The governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast have expressed concern too, stating that the tracing requirements are burdensome.
Officials from both countries and the EU recognise that the directive will be difficult to implement and have their own respective concerns. While the EU views sustainability in terms of deforestation, the governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast prioritise the revenues of farmers.
These cocoa-producing countries rely heavily on the EU market, but the major trading companies hold significant sway and can afford to wait out the governments until they are forced to sell at low prices.
Louisa Cox of the candy company Mars stated that the company’s goal is to be able to trace the beans it uses from farm to store by 2025, and that the EU legislation could be a game-changer if other major cocoa-consuming countries adopt similar measures.
There are several steps that chocolate lovers can take to support more sustainable and ethical practices in the chocolate industry, including researching and comparing the efforts of different chocolate makers to address issues such as deforestation, low farmer incomes, and child labor by consulting resources such as the Chocolate Scorecard, compiled by advocates and academics.

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