In Côte d'Ivoire, anger is brewing in the ranks of cocoa farmers. The Federation of Coffee-Cocoa Producer Organizations could boycott companies' sustainability programs if they don't pay the living income differential applied per ton of beans.

The pressure is mounting a little more in the chocolate industry. After the Ivorian and Ghanaian regulators, it is the turn of cocoa producers to target companies' sustainability programs that allow them to guarantee that their supply does not condone child labor or deforestation.

Indeed, the Federation of Coffee and Cocoa Producer Organizations (FOPCC) announced on Thursday, December 3, that it would withdraw from the various initiatives of companies that refrain from paying the recent income differential (DRD).

This tariff of $400 per tonne applied to the 2020/2021 harvest aims to improve farmers' incomes by increasing the guaranteed minimum price at the start of the campaign. But, in recent months, the authorities of the two producing countries have accused several chocolate companies such as Hershey and Mars of wanting to avoid paying the sum by changing their mode of cocoa supply.

And for good reason. Hershey acquired, a few weeks ago, 30,000 tons of cocoa directly on the New York Stock Exchange instead of a direct purchase from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.

“We learned with sadness that there was resistance from major companies to fulfill the DRD. We will suspend our participation in all certification and sustainability programs if this is not respected”, indicated Yao Dinard, vice-president of the FOPCC after a meeting with the Conseil du café-cacao (CCC). And to add: “the least paid players in the global chain are the producers. Only 6% of the $100 billion [of the global cocoa industry, editor's note] goes to producers”.

According to Bloomberg, the FOPCC plans to set up a follow-up committee in consultation with Ghanaian producers to assess the situation.