copal cocoa info - alliance of cocoa producing …. 466.doc · web viewcopal cocoa info a weekly...

INSIDE THIS ISSE: ICCO DAILY COCOA PRICES LONDON (LIFFE) FUTURES

MARKET UPDATE NEW YORK (ICE) FUTURES

MARKET UPDATE FROM THE NEWS MEDIA TIT BITS

COPAL COCOACOPAL COCOA InfoInfo

A Weekly Newsletter of Cocoa Producers' Alliance

Health and Nutrition Cocoa benefits don't mean you should overeat

chocolate

Production and Quality CAMPCO set to increase production capacity of its

chocolate unit Côte d'Ivoire centre aims to revive cocoa fields Ghana attains One Million Tonne Target in cocoa

Output, Says Finance Minister Barry Callebaut to boost I.Coast capacity to

210,000 T

The Market Prices melt over good Cocoa Crop Ivorian cocoa arrivals catching up with last season Cameroon cocoa prices dip as beans hit market Declining cocoa price threatens COCOBOD

Business & Economy Cargill pledges $3.25m investment in Ivory Coast

cocoa production Switzerland uses 64% of imported quality cocoa

from Ghana to produce ‘sweet’ chocolates Caribbean's St. Vincent looks to cash in on cocoa Askinosie Chocolate announces new product;

proceeds provide meals to Filipino Children

Labour Issues

Environmental Issue

Research & Development Chocolate has right chemistry to tempt even the

most non-scientific tastebuds

Do your health a favour, drink Cocoa everyday

‘It’s nature’s miracle food’UP-COMING EVENTSUP-COMING EVENTS IN THISIN THIS

Issue No. 466 14th – 18th November, 2011

Cameroon’s Cocoa Farm-Gate Prices Fell 2.8% in Week to Nov. 16

Ivorian cocoa prices steady on port, grinders-farmers

Processing & Manufacturing Barry Callebaut to build joint Indonesia cocoa

plant

Promotion & Consumption COPAL to develop cocoa certification standard for

member countries

Others

In the News (from Newspapers worldwide)

ICCO Daily Cocoa PricesICCO Daily Price

(SDR/tonne)ICCO Daily price

($US/tonne)London futures

(£/tonne)New York futures

($US/tonne)

14th November 1608.31 2528.41 1596.33 2522.00

15th November 1634.09 2560..02 1625.33 2554.33

16th November 1632.01 2549.23 1622.33 2544.33

17th November 1622.39 2533.07 1618.00 2515.00

18h November 1580.17 2479.63 1580.67 2469.00

Average 1616.00 2530.00 2530.00 1609.00

COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684

Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org2

mailto:[email protected]

International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE)London Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities

(£ per tone)

Monday 14th November 2011

Month Opening Trans Settle ChangeDaily High

Daily Low Volume

Dec 2011 1584 1576 1 1599S 1557 2,971Mar 2012 1608 1599 3 1619 1577 6,388May 2012 1622 1614 4 1633S 1594 1,715Jul 2012 1646 1629 4 1649S 1610S 975Sep 2012 1651 1641 3 1661S 1623 885Dec 2012 1671 1654 3 1671S 1635S 354Mar 2013 1673 1667 3 1673S 1655S 9May 2013 1674 3 0Jul 2013 1658 3 0Sep 2013 1658 3 0

Average/Totals 1637 13,297

Tuesday 15th November 2011

Month Opening Trans Settle ChangeDaily High

Daily Low Volume

Dec 2011 1575 1579 3 1580 1552 6,353Mar 2012 1601 1610 11 1611S 1579S 11,867May 2012 1610 1625 11 1625S 1594S 3,672Jul 2012 1629 1641 12 1642S 1609S 3,634Sep 2012 1644 1652 11 1652 1623S 1,314Dec 2012 1651 1662 8 1659S 1630 497Mar 2013 1678 11 0May 2013 1685 11 0Jul 2013 1669 11 0Sep 2013 1669 11 0


Wednesday 16th November 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume

Dec 2011 1579 1578 -1 1582S 1561S 8,054Mar 2012 1610 1608 -2 1614 1591 11,020May 2012 1628 1622 -3 1628S 1606 2,788Jul 2012 1643 1637 -4 1643S 1622S 5,206Sep 2012 1653 1649 -3 1654S 1633S 1,247Dec 2012 1657 1658 -4 1659 1640 1,420Mar 2013 1659 1674 -4 1661S 1659S 335May 2013 1672 1680 -5 1672S 1668S 1,100Jul 2013 1664 -5 0Sep 2013 1664 -5 0




http://www.nybot.com/reports/dmrs/etsDMRs/dmrFutures.asp?dmrMonth=04&dmrDay=11&dmrYear=2007&commodityID=1&commodityType=future






Thursday 17th November 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume

Dec 2011 1579 1577 -1 1579S 1558 2,486Mar 2012 1610 1604 -4 1610S 1588 8,489May 2012 1622 1618 -4 1622S 1603S 814Jul 2012 1636 1632 -5 1637 1619S 868Sep 2012 1648 1645 -4 1648S 1631S 436Dec 2012 1646 1657 -1 1651S 1642S 96Mar 2013 1660 1672 -2 1660S 1660S 2May 2013 1678 -2 0Jul 2013 1662 -2 0Sep 2013 1662 -2 0


Friday 18th November 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume

Dec 2011 1572 1537 -40 1572S 1533 1,835Mar 2012 1601 1565 -39 1601S 1562 9,595May 2012 1611 1581 -37 1611S 1579S 1,144Jul 2012 1619 1596 -36 1621S 1596S 419Sep 2012 1642 1606 -39 1642S 1603S 719Dec 2012 1636 1623 -34 1638S 1619S 276Mar 2013 1650 1635 -37 1652S 1630S 3,288May 2013 1654 1644 -34 1654 1645S 516Jul 2013 1634 -28 0Sep 2013 1634 -28 0


Average for the week 1606 20557 102,787









New York Board of Trade(New York Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities)

(US$ per tone)

Monday 14th November 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

Dec 2011 2500 2444 -45 2521 2405 6,206Mar 2012 2581 2555 -4 2585 2515 14,085May 2012 2588 2568 -2 2591 2529 2,351Jul 2012 2585 2583 -2 2595 2546 775Sep 2012 2617 2595 -2 2617 2562 601Dec 2012 2632 2607 -5 2632 2583 124Mar 2013 2620 2619 -5 2621 2585 153May 2013 2611 2628 -7 2611 2600 7Jul 2013 2625 2636 -7 2625 2615 16Sep 2013 0 2650 -7 0 0 0

Average/Totals 2589 24318

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

Dec 2011 2442 2253 -191 2448 2227 6,736Mar 2012 2567 2537 -18 2580 2520 19,684May 2012 2561 2550 -18 2593 2535 4,073Jul 2012 2572 2562 -21 2603 2548 1,639Sep 2012 2581 2574 -21 2610 2565 323Dec 2012 2580 2586 -21 2624 2578 188Mar 2013 2603 2598 -21 2627 2603 60May 2013 0 2607 -21 0 0 0Jul 2013 0 2615 -21 0 0 0Sep 2013 0 2629 -21 0 0 0


Wednesday 16th November 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

Dec 2011 2257 2291 38 2327 2190 810Mar 2012 2536 2536 -1 2551 2505 11,177May 2012 2552 2542 -8 2558 2516 2,498Jul 2012 2560 2556 -6 2567 2530 696Sep 2012 2574 2569 -5 2575 2556 129Dec 2012 2571 2582 -4 2591 2564 257Mar 2013 2585 2593 -5 2588 2570 117May 2013 2585 2605 -2 2585 2585 1Jul 2013 2600 2617 2 2600 2600 10Sep 2013 0 2629 0 0 0 0


Thursday 17th November 2011










Month Open Price Change High Low VolumeDec 2011 2298 2374 83 2370 2268 246Mar 2012 2535 2505 -31 2540 2490 13,129May 2012 2543 2511 -31 2547 2497 2,338Jul 2012 2557 2526 -30 2561 2510 542Sep 2012 2570 2540 -29 2570 2523 162Dec 2012 2586 2555 -27 2587 2550 55Mar 2013 2567 2567 -26 2568 2567 6May 2013 2584 2579 -26 2585 2584 6Jul 2013 2600 2589 -28 2600 2600 38Sep 2013 2600 2613 -16 2600 2600 2


Friday 18th November 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

Dec 2011 2364 2308 -66 2364 2292 86Mar 2012 2505 2458 -47 2512 2440 10,224May 2012 2515 2464 -47 2515 2447 910Jul 2012 2516 2479 -47 2520 2463 398Sep 2012 2523 2491 -49 2538 2477 488Dec 2012 2537 2507 -48 2537 2495 83Mar 2013 2550 2521 -46 2550 2506 102May 2013 2559 2534 -45 2559 2528 68Jul 2013 2575 2543 -46 2575 2540 46Sep 2013 2600 2570 -43 2600 2570 171


Average for the week 2488 2287 2287











News

Cocoa benefits don't mean you should overeat chocolatePlain DealerBy Evelyn Theiss November 15, 2011, Recent studies may have you believing you should eat a lot of chocolate for your health. That would be wishful thinking.

These studies do show the positive health impact of flavonoids naturally found in cocoa, which is made from cacao beans. "That is the key, but you can't compare cocoa to chocolate, which is mostly fat and sugar," says Harvard Medical School nutritionist and epidemiologist Eric L. Ding. "These were not chocolate trials."

Ding's recent analysis of 24 studies at Harvard showed that cocoa's polyphenolic flavonoids can indeed lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol, raise HDL (the good cholesterol) and help ward off diabetes, because they improve blood vessel health.

Problem is, it's not easy to get the benefit of flavonoids without consuming an enormous amount of cocoa, or chocolate.

One discovery that fueled research into cocoa is the ingestion of cocoa beverages by the Kuna Indians, off the coast of Panama, who drink 40 cups of cocoa a week -- more than any other population. (They mix the cocoa with plantain in their beverage.) They have one-ninth the incidence of heart disease, and one-sixteenth the number of age-related diseases, including diabetes and cancer, of residents on mainland Panama.

But if you're eating chocolate, Ding says you'd need to eat 33 bars of milk chocolate or eight bars of dark chocolate to get the same 400 to 500 milligrams per day of cocoa flavonoid levels, which is what it takes to affect health. "Such a level of astronomical chocolate intake is simply beyond any reasonable daily consumption," Ding says.

Another option is to take supplements that contain that level of flavonoids. One line of supplements is CocoaWell, available at stores like GNC, and at Cocoawell.com. Two small capsules supply the equivalent antioxidant power of eight bars of dark chocolate, without the calories, fat and sugar found in a beverage or chocolate bars.

If you're a chocoholic, take comfort in the fact that a couple of small squares of dark chocolate is OK, but they must contain 70 percent or more cocoa.

CAMPCO set to increase production capacity of its chocolate unitTimes of India By Jaideep Shenoy, TNN Nov 15, 2011, MANGALORE: What do leading multi-national company chocolate brands such as Cadburys, Nestle, Lotte, Perfetti, and desi brands such as Nandini, Milma, and ITC have in common with Puttur, a bustling town on the road to Madikeri? It is the presence of multi-state co-operative Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd, which incidentally houses Karnataka's only chocolate manufacturing unit.



NEWS

Health and Nutrition

Production & Quality


Set up in 1986, Campco's first tryst with a MNC chocolate company came four-years later when it entered in to an agreement with Nestle to manufacture chocolates for them, and they in turn bought cocoa products from Campco. Nestle as per the agreement marketed under its own brand name. Now, two-decades later, Campco supplies finished products and bulk chocolate material to these brands and the demand for it is growing.

Trying to keep pace with this demand, Campco has set on an ambitious expansion plan that would see its production capacity go up from 18,000 tonnes per annum to 23,000 tonnes per annum by October next. Campco has put forth a proposal to its board seeking approval for the capacity expansion at a cost of Rs 25 crore, which would be utilised for purchase of state of the art chocolate manufacturing machines from Italian company Carle and Montanari

Campco at present crushes cocoa beans for Cadburys, provides finished products for Nandini, Nestle and Milma of Kerala, and bulk chocolate to ITC, Amul, Lotte and Perfetti, says Suresh Bhandary, general manager, Campco. "While majority of finished and bulk products are used by Nestle, with whom we have a very good understanding. Move by other companies such as Lotte to expand their presence is guiding Campco's expansion plans," he adds.

This value addition done to an horticultural crop is helping farmers growing cocoa and selling it to the multi-state cooperative earn additional income, he says, adding the chocolate factory is working in three shifts to meet constant demand.

Campco will look at newer partners once the capacity addition in terms of production goes online, he adds. So the next time you pop in one of those chocolates that melt in your mouths, thank Campco and Puttur for it.

Côte d'Ivoire centre aims to revive cocoa fieldsSciDev.Net -By Ghislaine Atta16 November 2011

The centre could help cocoa farmers revive their plantations

[ABIDJAN] Côte d'Ivoire is aiming to help farmers revive their cocoa plantations with a US$5 million experimental research station, due to be operational by January 2013.

The station, which will be based in Zambakro, in the country's Yamoussoukro department, is an initiative of the food and nutrition company Nestlé. It is expected to cost 2.5 billion Central African Francs

(US$5.2 million) and will be built on a 30-hectare site.

Work began on the centre last month (12 October) and the company expects it to be completed within the next 15 months, said Serigne Diop, director of the Nestlé Research and Development Center Abidjan.

Diop told SciDev.Net that the research station will reinforce the capacities of African farmers by training them in the best cocoa-planting techniques.

The country's National Centre of Agronomic Research (NCAR) will collaborate on research undertaken at the new station. To date, NCAR has developed about 15 new cocoa plant varieties which produce higher yields in Ivoirian soil.

Meanwhile, researchers at Nestlé have developed a more cost-effective cocoa plant production technique that multiplies plants in vitro without using beans.

The two institutes will combine these interventions in the Zambakro centre to produce high-yielding cocoa plantations.

Diop told SciDev.Net that the station is being established in response to the needs of Ivoirian cocoa farmers. "These research programmes will increase the agricultural productivity of the existing plantations," he added.




He said that the Zambakro station will also function as a training centre for agricultural cooperatives testing new techniques in cocoa farming.

M. Mouaye Regis Konan, an agricultural engineer at the Organisation of the Producers of Cocoa of the Lagoon Region (OPLRC), said he was confident that the collaboration between NCAR and Nestlé will move cocoa research forwards. He added that some are concerned that the commercial firm may be acting in its own interests, but NCAR's involvement should reassure people that the research results will be objective.

Comoé Marius, president of the Ivory Coast Consumers Organisation, said: "We hope that Nestlé will not work for only its own profit but also for the cocoa producers of the Ivory Coast, and will help them to increase their income and improve their quality of life."

Ghana attains One Million Tonne Target in cocoa Output, Says Finance MinisterBernamaNov 17, 2011 (BERNAMA-NNN-GNA) -- Ghana has attained its production target of 1.0 million tonnes of cocoa for the first time in the country's history ahead of the 2012 schedule, says Finance and Economic Planning Minister Dr Kwabena Duffuor.

Presenting the 2012 Budget, in parliament here on Wednesday, the minister said this had been made possible through good policies and programmes as well as the hard work of cocoa farmers and other stakeholders. He said the government was focused on accelerating the modernization of agriculture to transform the economy through the introduction of technology and mechanisation.

Dr Duffuor also told Parliament that the producer price of cocoa had also been reviewed upwards last month to 3,280.00 Cedi (about 2,010 USD) per tonne, which was equivalent to 205.00 Cedi per bag of cocoa, for the 2011-2012 cocoa season. "This price is 76.04 per cent of the net F.O.B. price," he noted. He said the main policy interventions included the provision of fertilizer subsidy, irrigation, buffer stock management, seed improvement and quality standardisation.

Barry Callebaut to boost I.Coast capacity to 210,000 TReuters AfricaBy Ange AboaNov 17, 2011 (Reuters) - Barry Callebaut, the world's top chocolate maker, plans to boost its Ivory Coast factory capacity to around 210,000 tonnes by the end of 2012, the firm's West Africa director Peter de Peters told Reuters on Thursday.

Barry Callebaut now has a grinding capacity of around 175,000 tonnes, an increase of 70,000 tonnes since it put in a new factory at the port of Abidjan over the past two months, de Peters said.

Top cocoa grower Ivory Coast, whose beans make up a third of the world market, is set to overtake the Netherlands as the world's top grinder in the next few years, as it seeks more value from its cocoa exports. "The capacity in the factory at San Pedro will be upgraded to 140,000 tonnes, while the one at Abidjan will stay as it is, at 70,000 tonnes," de Peters said in a phone interview. "This represents a further increase in our capacity." The move effectively doubles the 105,000 capacity the processor had at the start of this year.

Investments in cocoa processing facilities in Ivory Coast have pushed its share of grindings up sharply since 2008 and it could take the top spot in the next year or so.

President Alassane Ouattara is wooing foreign capital to try to revive what was once West Africa's star economy and launch badly needed infrastructure projects, after a post-election conflict this year killed at least 3,000 people.

The government offers what cocoa traders say are some attractive tax breaks for grinders and unlike many of its poorer neighbours, it usually has enough electricity.




Barry Callebaut provides liquid chocolate, coatings, cocoa powder and the like to food manufacturers such as Nestle and Hershey, which often opt for outsourcing of chocolate production to cut costs.

Prices melt over good Cocoa CropWall Street JournalBy Leslie JosephsNovember 12, 2011

Cocoa prices tumbled to more than two-year lows as the harvest in key West African suppliers hits high gear.

In addition, deliveries against December futures, the front-month contract, will be the last ones subject to the exchange's old quality standards. New standards kick in with the March 2012 contract, and traders say that is depressing prices.

December cocoa closed $15, or 0.6%, lower at $2,489 a ton, the lowest settlement since July 2009 on ICE Futures U.S. The March contract ended flat at $2,559 a ton. A ton of cocoa yields about 12,500 solid, milk-chocolate candy bars.

Traders this year expect a good crop out of Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce about half of the world's cocoa. "There don't seem to be any supply issues," said Luis Rangel, a vice president at brokerage ICAP Futures. Prices have declined 34% since hitting a 32-year peak of $3,774 a ton on in March.

Exchange operator IntercontinentalExchange Inc. in August introduced new rules that prohibit physical deliveries against the cocoa contract with significant amount of debris, such as bean shells or dirt. "December is the last chance to get rid of that [cocoa]," Mr. Rangel said.

Adding to the pressure on prices are worries that a global economic downturn could sour consumer demand for chocolate, particularly since Europe is the world's largest per capita chocolate consumer. Chocolate "is a nicety that is not necessary for human survival," said Spencer Patton, founder of Chicago-based Steel Vine Investments.

Ivorian cocoa arrivals catching up with last seasonReuters AfricaNov 14, 2011

LAGOS (Reuters) - Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast had reached around 186,000 tonnes by Nov 13 since the season started in October, exporters estimated on Monday, compared with 203,870 tonnes in the same period of the previous season.

Exporters estimated around 40,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state's two ports between Nov 7 and 13, up from 11,014 tonnes in the same week a year ago, as volumes that had been trailing last season's by more than a third started to catch up.

But exporters said quality had declined because farmers had been stockpiling cocoa in the bush during a price dispute since the start of the season.

Farmers complained that they were not receiving the sector-wide indicative price, so refused to sell, which led to poor quality beans due to the lack of decent storage. "Things are going a lot better compared with the start of the season. We got around 40,000 tonnes this week, but our preoccupation now is the quality," said the director of a European export house in Abidjan. "If we don't sort it out, then in a few weeks time there's going to be a mountain of poor quality beans that we won't be able to export and the local grinders will snap them up."

Farmers have been holding back their beans in the hope of receiving prices closer to the sector-wide indicative price of 1,000 CFA francs per kilogram.



The Market


Guaranteeing farmers a greater share of the market price of the cocoa they produce is at the heart of cocoa reforms the government signed off on the week before last.Even though volumes are looking better, exporters said the quality of the beans coming through was deteriorating.

And exporters said there were still not enough high quality beans coming out of the bush to meet contracts. "A part of the December contract could be compromised if the farmers continue with this protest, because it takes time to buy, treat and export the beans," said a San Pedro-based exporter.

Cameroon cocoa prices dip as beans hit marketReuters AfricaNov 15, 2011

A man grades cocoa beans in a warehouse in Ivory Coast

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Cocoa farm-gate prices in Cameroon have dropped since last month as production has increased, farmers said on Monday.

An easing of rains in the world's fifth-largest grower has also improved bean drying operations and made upcountry roads more passable -- increasing the amount of export-ready cocoa available to the market.

"There is a steady supply of the beans on the market," said Francis Fobi, the secretary general of the South-West Farmers Cooperative Union (SOWEFCU) based in the main marketing centre Kumba. The South-West produces 40 percent of the national crop.

Speaking to Reuters from Emana in the Centre region, which produces another 40 percent of Cameroon's cocoa, local cooperative leader Emmanuel Nnogo Akolo said improved weather conditions have led to a massive influx of unlicensed buyers from the capital city.

They move from door to door with plenty of cash and save the farmers the pains of transporting beans themselves.

"Many farmers here are very eager now to sell their beans and begin buying Christmas provisions for their family members before the month of December when prices go up," he said.

Prices in the South, the third largest growing region, also fell. Farmers said the collapse of the Ntem River bridge had made it hard for them to move beans out of the area.

Cameroon's cocoa season runs from August 1 to July 31, with the main harvest period from October to February. Production hit an all-time record of 240,000 tonnes in 2010/11, and the Cocoa Development Authority (SODECAO) foresees it reaching 250,000 tonnes in 2011/12.

Declining cocoa price threatens COCOBODCitifmonlineNov 15, 2011

The Government of Ghana faces huge financial losses in the cocoa sector as prices of the commodity on the international market hit an all time low.

Last month Government announced an increase in the producer price of cocoa, pegging it at GHc3, 280 per tonne for the 2011/2012 crop season despite falling world market prices.




Government was hoping the prices would stabilise but it fell to the lowest level in more than two years last week, dropping from over $3,700 in March to $2,700. This is a threat to the prices government has set for the farmers.As it stands now, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) will only make gains on the beans it has already sold at a higher price. But there are far reaching consequences if the price of the commodity keeps dropping.

According to the Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Noah Amenya, “we have fixed the producer price for the year and therefore we have a certain world market price in view.

But as the season advances and the market price keeps falling, it would be below what we had envisaged it to be and therefore it becomes a threat to us”. He is however hopeful things will improve on the international market. “Once we have fixed it, we will pay that set price for the farmers throughout the year hoping that the prices will improve on the international market so that it will guarantee what we have promised to give to the farmers”.

There are also fears the development would affect national revenue if it continues deep into the 2011/2012 cocoa crop season.

At the end of September 2011, national revenue from the sale of cocoa beans had contributed significantly to Ghana’s total merchandise exports. Cocoa alone contributed $1. 7 billion, ensuring Ghana’s total merchandise exports reached $9. 8 billion.

Mr Amenya has downplayed the possible impact of the price falls since Ghana has hedged its cocoa sales. “The system we are running is like hedging (a forward sale system) and therefore we have guaranteed a very large quantity of our produce already and therefore we will not be affected terribly by what is happening on the international market now but for the future, yes it could and therefore we hope that things will change, demand will go high, prices will start going up and then we can guarantee the future”, Mr Amenya said.

Ghana’s highest revenue from cocoa was due to the record 1 million tonnes of cocoa produced during the last crop season. COCOBOD has set a target of between 850,000 to 950,000 metric tonnes for the 2011/2012 crop season.

Meanwhile Cocoa production in Ghana could see massive improvement, as the country has been considered in a $13. 5 million programme by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). The World Cocoa Foundation that promotes sustainable cocoa economy by providing cocoa farmers with the tools they need to grow more and better cocoa, market it successfully, and make greater profits.

The five-year programme will see the funds disbursed to Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Nigeria. Part of the funds will be channelled to improve the genetic quality and productivity of cocoa varieties under cultivation and improve agriculture input supply chains that serve farmers.

These efforts help increase the supply of cocoa and help guarantee chocolate lovers access to their favourite products. The programme will be headquartered at WCF's office in Accra, to support activities across the sub-region.

Cameroon’s Cocoa Farm-Gate Prices Fell 2.8% in Week to Nov. 16Bloomberg By Pius Lukong in Yaounde at ebowers1@bloomberg Nov. 17, 2011 (Bloomberg) -- The average farm-gate price for cocoa in Cameroon, Africa’s fourth-largest producer of the crop, dropped 2.8 percent in the week to Nov. 16.

The price declined to 1,014 CFA francs ($2.08) a kilogram from 1,043 CFA francs, James Mosima Lobe, vice-president of the Cameroon National Association of Cocoa and Coffee Producers, said today by phone from Buea in the country’s southwest.

Ivorian cocoa prices steady on port, grinders-farmersReuters AfricaBy Loucoumane Coulibaly




Nov 17, 2011 ABIDJAN Nov 17 (Reuters) - Cocoa farmgate prices in Ivory Coast's cocoa regions were steady last week, as local grinders were rushes to collect good quality beans, while firm ports prices and concerns over futures shortages added some support, farmers said on Thursday.

In the western region of Gagnoa, farmers said the average price was at between 750 CFA francs per kg and 800 CFA, from between 700-750 the previous week as beans were increasingly attracting buyers.

The Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC), which normally gives a breakdown of prices in some regions on a weekly basis, did not publish anything this week. "There's a lot of good quality cocoa and the buyers are stocking up on it," said cooperative manager François Badiel.

In the coastal region of San Pedro, farmers said many of them delivered last week to local grinders at an average price near to 800 CFA francs per kg, compared with about 750 the previous week, as price at the port of San Pedro were hovering around 850 CFA francs. "The farmers offloaded a lot of cocoa last week to the grinders. The farmgate price is not far from 800 francs," said farmer Labbe Zoungrana.

In the centre-western region of Daloa, farmers said the average price was between 750 and 800 from 750-775 the previous week, as some buyers fearing a shortage of cocoa after December due to recent dry weather in the region were buying ahead. "There are certain buyers who are starting to worry about future supplies. There will be enough cocoa until December but after that the rains become rare," said farmer Attoungbre Kouame. "There are a lot trucks coming into the bush."

In western region of Soubre, farmer Salam Kone said prices remained stable and steady between 750 and 800 CFA francs as demand from grinders was strong.

Barry Callebaut to build joint Indonesia cocoa plantReutersNov 18, 2011 JAKARTA (Reuters) - Barry Callebaut, the world's top chocolate maker, said on Friday it is setting up a $33 million joint venture for a cocoa processing plant in Indonesia, in a latest move to boost domestic grinding in the world's third-largest cocoa producer.

Government tax incentives, including export tariffs and investment tax holidays, have boosted domestic cocoa grinding this year, and is seen cutting bean exports in Southeast Asia's largest economy in the coming years.

Barry Callebaut will own 60 percent of the partnership, which will include a processing plant in Sulawesi province, that will have an initial grinding capacity of 28,000 tonnes per year, the group said on its website. The remaining 40 pct will be owned by PT Comextra Majora, a diversified soft commodities trader and a leading exporter of cocoa from Indonesia.

The new company will be called PT Barry Callebaut Comextra Indonesia, and operations are due to start at the Sulawesi plant in early 2013.

Barry Callebaut provides liquid chocolate, coatings, cocoa powder and the like to food manufacturers such as Nestle and Hershey, which often opt for outsourcing of chocolate production to cut costs.

Indonesia plans to triple domestic cocoa consumption over the next three years to boost the local manufacturing industry, which could impact exports from the world's No. 3 producer, an industry ministry official said last month.

Indonesian grinders are forecast to process 400,000 tonnes of beans into chocolate ingredients in 2012, up 43 percent from this year's 280,000 tonnes, to meet growing demand from consumers in Asia at a time when demand in Europe and the United States may falter.



Processing & Manufacturing


Indonesia is also attracting companies such as U.S. giant Cargill, which plans to invest $113 million to set up a cocoa grinding plant in Sulawesi.

Cargill pledges $3.25m investment in Ivory Coast cocoa productionProcurement Leaders NewsNovember 14, 2011

Cargill has revealed plans to spend $3.25m to develop and expand its Ivory Coast farmer training program and support activities to enable cooperatives to obtain independent UTZ and Rain Forest Alliance certification.

The investment programme includes a partnership with ANADER, Cote d'Ivoire's national rural development agency, to support farmer training activities and the distribution of 600,000 cocoa tree seedlings to participating cooperatives to help improve and renew existing cocoa farms.

The agreement with ANADER was signed at a ceremony in Abidjan by the Minister of Agriculture for Cote d'Ivoire, Monsieur Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly and Greg Page, Cargill chairman and chief executive officer.

"Cote d'Ivoire remains one of the foremost producers of cocoa in the world, and this agreement strengthens our ongoing commitment to help improve the farming practices and the livelihoods of Ivorian cocoa farmers, as well as support the development of the country's cocoa sector," said Greg Page, Cargill chairman and chief executive officer. He added that Cargill has been training Ivorian cocoa farmers for more than 10 years to increase yields, improve quality and adopt more sustainable practices. In 2011/2012 the company said it will train over 60,000 farmers across 90 cooperatives in Cote d'Ivoire through over 1,100 farmer field schools. This training has already enabled 44 farmer cooperatives to achieve independent UTZ certification and this figure will double to 90 certified cooperatives by October 2012.

According to Cargill, the 10-month programme for cooperatives and their members focuses on farming techniques and post-harvest activities such as pruning, plantation renewal and cocoa fermentation methods. In addition it also stresses broader social aspects, such as the importance of ensuring children's education and HIV awareness.

"In crop year 2011/12 Cargill is forecasting to purchase 50,000 tonnes of certified cocoa, which will represent cocoa premium payments totalling over $9m. Over 50% of these payments go directly to farmers with the remainder being invested by the cooperatives to provide assistance to members and to build local community facilities. Cargill is continuing to work closely with cooperatives to reach its target of 100,000 tonnes of certified sustainable cocoa beans from Cote d'Ivoire by 2015," Cargill said in a statement.

Lionel Soulard, managing director West Africa, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, said: "Successful cocoa growing communities are important both for the development of the Ivorian economy and for our own business. We want to continue to provide support and assistance, where we can, to help improve the quality, yields and incomes of farmers so that cocoa farming can continue to thrive in the country for many generations to come."

Switzerland uses 64% of imported quality cocoa from Ghana to produce ‘sweet’ chocolatesGhana Business NewsBy Ekow QuandzieNovember 15, 2011

Dr. Franz Urs Schmid - Director of CHOCOSUISSE

The Association of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers (CHOCOSUISSE), which represents the common interests of the Swiss chocolate industry, says it imports about 40,000 tonnes of cocoa beans yearly from across the world.



Business & Economy


Out of the about 40,000 tonnes, CHOCOSUISSE says Ghana’s share of the import is 64%.Ghana is the world’s second largest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast.

This was disclosed by Dr. Franz Urs Schmid, Director of CHOCOSUISSE, in an exclusive interview with ghanabusinessnews.com in Accra November 10, 2011. He and some Swiss chocolate producers like Max Felchlin AG were in the country to launch the Swiss funded Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Project in Ghana. “We work on cocoa beans and we import about 40,000 tonnes of cocoa beans and 64% is the share of Ghana,” Dr Schmid told ghanabusinessnews.com.

CHOCOSUISSE, founded July 1, 1901, is made up 18 independent factories that produce some of the finest and sweetest chocolates for the world market. It has over 5,000 employees.

Dr Schmid explains that Swiss chocolate manufacturers import much from Ghana and other West African cocoa producing countries due to the quality of the beans. “If you look at production and the quality, we (CHOCOSUISSE) all agree about that – 70% of production is made from West Africa with the remaining 30% from South America and Indonesia,” he said.

“Consumer cocoa from West Africa is very used and we like it. We go for quality and Ghana has the good quality.”

A chocolate manufactured by Swiss company Felchlin

Brigitte Cuendet, Head of Economic Section and Development Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy in Accra during the project launch said “the best cocoa comes from Ghana and Switzerland produces the world’s sweetest chocolates.”

According to Dr Schmid, the association used to import about 25% of cocoa beans from Ivory Coast but “all of a sudden we had more problems with quality because the middlemen were collecting the beans in small amount and the farmers were suffering on the quality.”

He adds, “They gave their beans without proper fermentation before giving to the middle and buyers” adding “it was hard to trace these middlemen.” He also disclosed that the child labour situation in Ivory Coast led the association to import less from the country than it used to five years ago. “We need the physical quality of the beans and also the social quality. Swiss consumers became more and more aware of child labour and they are wondering under what social condition farmers were producing the cocoa beans,” he said.

Ghana, Dr Schmid noted, is doing well on the social quality of the beans. “I think here in Ghana, COCOBOD are doing a good job on the social quality therefore the need to continue importing from Ghana.” He urged Ghana to produce more of the beans since demand for the crop is growing. “The need for beans is increasing and so if Ghana produces more, we will buy more.”

Ghana, for the 2010-2011 crop season hit a million tonnes of cocoa production, according to figures posted by the Ghana COCOBOD.

Cocoa purchases declared to Ghana for the first two weeks of the 2011/12 main crop season reached 219,255 tonnes by October 27, the Reuters News Agency reported November 7, 2011 citing data from COCOBOD, the industry regulator. The purchases, according to the publication, covered the first two weeks of the main crop season that began on October 14. The purchases were up 54.4% on the corresponding period in the previous season.

Ghana recently raised the price of cocoa per tonne from GH¢3,200 to GH¢3,280 and it is targeting to produce between 850,000-900,000 tonnes this crop year.

Caribbean's St. Vincent looks to cash in on cocoaReuters AfricaBy Kevin GrayNov 16, 2011




MIAMI (Reuters) - The small Caribbean country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines wants to cash in on the world's booming taste for chocolate. The lush, volcanic island chain struck a deal recently with major commodities trader Armajaro to start growing cocoa, betting it will provide a much-needed economic boost in one of the Caribbean's smallest nations. "Farmers are already lining up," St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told Reuters.

Armajaro, a leading cocoa trader, will provide training to local farmers under the agreement in exchange for being the sole buyer of their cocoa. "We are looking for fine flavor, high-value premium cocoa,"

Nicko Debenham, Armajaro's director of development and sustainability and the project leader, said in an interview. For the farmers, cocoa could be a good bet. Increased demand for chocolate in emerging markets, particularly Asia, has lifted world cocoa prices despite fears of a global economic slowdown.

A former British territory, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is home to just over 100,000 people. Located in theSouth eastern Caribbean, its mountainous islands are popular with yachting and boating enthusiasts. Like many small, fragile Caribbean states, it was hard-hit by the global financial crisis and its tourism- and agriculture-dependent economy is still struggling to recover.

The country has long been largely dependent on a single crop: bananas. Once helped by European Union trade preferences, banana production employs more than half of the national workforce, many of them small farmers, and is the top export.

However, a phasing out of EU preferences and fluctuations in banana prices led government officials to begin a push to diversify the economy, now mired in a three-year recession. "We have suffered greatly," Gonsalves said. "There are lots of challenges. But this provides a chance for some of the land that was cultivating bananas to go into cocoa."

ICE cocoa prices CCc2 hit a 32-year high of $3,775 a tonne in March at the height of a conflict in the world's top producer, Ivory Coast, after a disputed presidential election. While prices have fallen around 30 percent since the situation in Ivory Coast stabilized, they still exceed levels seen through the late 1980s and lasting until 2008.

STARTING SMALL

Drawn by the rise in prices, authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines began promoting the crop several years ago and approached Armajaro to help stimulate production.

Armajaro's Debenham said the agreed project aims to start planting on 500 acres (200 hectares) by mid-2012. If initial plantings are successful, they could be expanded within five years to 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) potentially producing between 2,500 tonnes and 3,000 tonnes, he said. "It's more about the challenge of starting something from nothing than the outright volume of it," Debenham said. Growing cocoa is not new to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which also produces coconuts, sweet potatoes and spices. Today, cocoa is produced only in very small amounts. "It's not being farmed," Debenham said. "They're basically selling it in single bags at a time to locals who make cocoa sticks."

Global cocoa demand is on course to outstrip supply in the coming years as aging trees and a lack of investment in some of the world's top producers limit production.

In the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic ranks among the world's ten leading producers. Other Caribbean countries have also begun to show an interest in producing the crop, lured by the prospect of higher prices.

Premier Gonsalves said he did not expect cocoa entirely to replace banana farming. But he predicted it would help bring a change in farmers' livelihoods and contribute toward turning around the country's sputtering economy. Raised in a rural area and an owner of some farmlands, Gonsalves said he too planned to try his hand at producing cocoa. "I intend to grow some myself," he said.




Askinosie Chocolate announces new product; proceeds provide meals to Filipino ChildrenKSPRBy Joe Daues November 16, 2011

Askinosie Chocolate is taking his unique approach to partnering with cocoa bean farmers around the world to the next level. The Springfield chocolatier is now selling Tableya, a traditional Filipino hot chocolate beverage made of roasted cocoa beans. It comes from the Davao region of the Phillipines, and the proceeds from the sale will help buy meals for children in one school there.

The Tableya is produced and packaged by the Parent Teachers Association at the Malagos School (where Askinosie sources cocoa

beans).

They will be shipped to the Askinosie Chocolate factory on the same container as the cocoa beans.

WHY

On a recent trip to Davao, Shawn Askinosie met with Malagos School officials who explained that many of the students suffer from malnutrition.

Askinosie asked the Malagos PTA to make Tableya so Askinosie Chocolate could sell it to their customers and fund the school lunch program. Askinosie bought 800 units of Tableya for $1 per unit, and plans to sell them for $10. The $9 profit will fund a school year of lunches for 579 students; that's more than 111,000 meals for the school year.

The hot lunch is a fortified soy rice meal purchased from Springfield based Convoy of Hope. “This little PTA came together and made a wonderful product for the nutritional future of their children. They are an inspiration to us. That is why this program really is sustainable. The parents have a stake in the outcome,” Askinosie said.

PUBLIC EVENT

Thursday, (11-17), from 5 pm-7 pm, Askinosie Chocolate, 514 E Commercial Street, Springfield MO will host a free sampling of Tableya.

Chocolate has right chemistry to tempt even the most non-scientific tastebudsIrish TimesBy DICK AHLSTROM, Science EditorNovember 15, 2011



Labour Issues

Research & Development

Environmental Issue


SCIENCE WEEK: YOU MIGHT not understand what makes chocolate so irresistible but the people who make it do. And to a large part it comes down to chemistry.

The secrets of the chocolatier were revealed yesterday in a lecture Smart Chemistry – Tasty Food! given by Prof Dolores O’Riordan of University College Dublin.

Yes, it is sweet and there is cocoa in it but it all comes down to the fat said Prof O’Riordan who is based in the Institute of Food and Health. “The melting of the fat is very important,” she told a packed audience of students assembled for a Science Week presentation at the Science Gallery.

The chocolatier needs to do a bit of chemistry on the key fat, the cocoa butter, that makes chocolate the delight it is, she told them. Student attention was guaranteed as she lifted plates piled high with samples of the brown stuff with the possibility of a taste test always on the cards. It all comes down to the size of “fat crystal” allowed to form during production, she said. Each has a different melting point, but the chocolatier wants a product that melts in the mouth, not in the hand and this means a large fat crystal, one that readily melts on the tongue at 33.8 degrees she said, as the plates bearing samples began to circulate the room.

Prof O’Riordan had a great deal more to tell her enthusiastic audience. “Essentially the food we eat is made of chemicals. We process the chemicals within the food to make them safe, to give them texture, to make them look and taste nice,” she said.

Chemistry can be used to modify colour, texture and even aroma, “and that all affects the food choices we make”, she said. She nixed the widely held assumption that “e-numbers” that define additives, preservatives and artificial colours were all bad. It was quite the opposite, she said, with tests showing they were safe.

Many still liked the idea of “natural” food colours, but few realised that the bright crimson dye often used in foods comes from the dried shell of the cochineal scale insect, she told them. “Genes can also influence our preferences for food,” she said.

COPAL to develop cocoa certification standard for member countriesGhana Broadcasting Corporation -Source: GNANovember 18, 2011

The Alliance of Cocoa Producing Countries (COPAL) is in the process of developing a certification standard for its member countries by harmonizing existing certification schemes, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning has said.

In a speech read on behalf of the Minister at the three-day National Cocoa Stakeholders’ Conference, he said the COPAL scheme would also take into consideration the different national and international standards on cocoa

trade and food safety as well as other market fundamentals.

Dr Duffuor said the slow pace of growth in the volume of certified cocoa beans produced in the country showed that there were practical challenges with the processes to securing the license as a certified cocoa grower.

Besides, the absence of clearly defined stakeholders’ responsibilities for certified cocoa in the supply chain in relation to the rules of the Federation of Cocoa Commerce further added to the problem, he said.

Dr Duffuor said: “The flood of certification schemes confuses farmers and masks the understanding of how certification works exactly. Low literacy levels among cocoa growers impede capacity building programmes



Promotion & Consumption


and adoption of new technologies”. He called for well-defined stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities to fit into the FCC rules to encourage collective acceptance, the establishment of legal and regulatory framework and operational guidelines necessary to facilitate smooth implementation of certification standards along the whole value chain.

Dr Duffuor said there was also the need to step up training programmes and institute monitoring and evaluation of certification programmes. He said it was important to deal with the issues as there was increasing consumer preference for certified cocoa beans, which offered producing countries the opportunity to expand the scope of certification to cover more growers and increase production in consonance with the current and future demand.

Mr Cyril Ugwu, Regional Cocoa Programme Manager, West Africa Fair Fruit, said aside, quality consumers were now demanding cocoa that had been produced under production systems that avoid the use of unapproved chemicals, adhere to labour conditions, acknowledges occupational health and safety and protection of the natural environment.He said “Stakeholders of the cocoa supply chain now seek to develop an integrated approach to improve and protect the economic, social and environmental conditions at the beginning of the supply chain,” and added that Ghana needed to strategise to compete with the fast growing 50 producing countries, that now advertised their produce on traceability portals of standard systems for easy sourcing by processors.

The conference organised by West Africa Fair Fruit on the theme: “Partnership for Cocoa Sustainability,” will discuss issues in the cocoa sector and sustainability tools, which had made farmers in other countries to get higher yield and income.

It will also deal with an understanding of current international trends, challenges and opportunities and how cocoa certification serves as a tool for cocoa sustainability.

Cocoa buyers and consumers of chocolate around the world are increasingly demanding traceable cocoa and a lot of cocoa producing countries are grabbing the opportunities therein.

Cocoa certification demands that a farmer’s social, environmental and economic activities fall in line with best labour practices; in exchange for premium price on produce.



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