Fairtrade cocoa farmers worldwide will benefit from the 1st
October of a 20% increase in the guaranteed minimum price and the development bonus they receive
for their production, the certification body FairTrade/Max Havelaar announced on Tuesday.
From now on, the price paid per ton of fermented beans will increase to 2,400 dollars per ton on boarding
instead of 2,000 dollars previously, indicated to AFP, Blaise Desbordes, Director-general of Max Havelaar
France, on the occasion of International Cocoa Day which also marks the start of the campaign
cocoa in the major producing countries of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.
The premium, which corresponds to an additional payment benefiting a community (cooperative or
village) will drop from 200 dollars per ton to 240 dollars.
"The new tariff comes into force on October 1, from that date, no one will have the right
to buy fair trade cocoa below this price", affirmed Mr. Desbordes.
In addition, a premium of 300 dollars per ton is applied for organic cocoa, also from the 1st
October.
These increases should benefit some 260,000 cocoa producers in 21 countries.
who work under the Fair trade/Max Havelaar label, one of the most important in the fair sector.
Of the 21 countries, the top five are, in order of importance, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Peru,
Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
"This is a measure intended to save family farming, especially in Africa," said Mr.
Desbordes.
Of the approximately 4.5 million tonnes of cocoa produced worldwide each year, approximately 215,000
tonnes are marketed under a fair trade label, guaranteeing a fair income for producers.
But the fair sector produces a total of 428,000 tonnes of cocoa that meets its criteria.
environmental, social and ethical, which is twice what it manages to market.