Ivory Coast is uniquely dependent on cacao which accounts for 40% of national export income and is thought to be the main source of livelihood for around 6 million of the country's 26 million inhabitants. Ahead of Ghana, the other major producer in West Africa, Ivory Coast grows about a third of the world's cacao, most of which goes into the manufacture of chocolate and and other cacao products. Yet the industry is beset by challenges, ranging from climate change and deforestation to child...
more »Ivory Coast is uniquely dependent on cacao which accounts for 40% of national export income and is thought to be the main source of livelihood for around 6 million of the country's 26 million inhabitants. Ahead of Ghana, the other major producer in West Africa, Ivory Coast grows about a third of the world's cacao, most of which goes into the manufacture of chocolate and and other cacao products. Yet the industry is beset by challenges, ranging from climate change and deforestation to child labour and the endlessly fluctuating price of cacao on world markets. The vast majority of producers grow their trees on smallholdings and only receive a tiny fraction of the actual value of the crop once it is sold on to export markets.
The average cacao farmer makes around a dollar a day. As the commodity is traded up through the system of exporters, wholesalers and retailers, its value continues to increase, making for a highly profitable business. The main destinations for Ivory Coast's cacao are Germany and Switzerland at the top of the table, followed by Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom where, on average, around 11 kg of chocolate are consumed per person. Cacao prices peaked in the mid 1970s at over USD 5,700 per tonne but have been decreasing, notwithstanding the occasional spike, ever since. While cacao accounted for nearly a half of the value of a chocolate bar in the 1970s, today it only makes up around 6%, the rest of the profit going to manufacturers and retailers.
The world cacao market is dominated by a few large companies including Mondélez, Nestlé, Mars and Barry Callebaut, the world's largest supplier of chocolate and cacao products. Despite efforts to regulate the price through initiatives like the Fair Trade Foundation which campaigns on behalf of growers, sudden changes in the price can leave small producers at the mercy of commercial decisions beyond their control, struggling to feed their families. In addition to this, the environmental effects of cacao production have taken their toll on the country. It is estimated that Ivory Coast has lost over two thirds of its forest cover over the past 30 years. At this rate, the country could have no rainforest left by 2030 which could deal a devastating blow to wildlife and the fight against climate change.
Since cacao production dominates rural life in Ivory Coast to such an extent it has also led to an unusually high level of child labour with over 2 million children regularly working to supplement their families' income. Many of the stages of the production process - from the gathering of ripe pods to the splitting of the pod to extract the white fleshy pulp - are largely done by women who get paid even less than their male counterparts despite playing a vital roll. Ivory Coast sits near the bottom in terms of gender equality and while some cacao buyers such as Cargill, Kellogg and the UK's ASDA supermarket are fostering initiatives to empower women cacao farmers, ...++
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