London, 8 May 2014 — The second edition of the World Cocoa Conference, due to take place in Amsterdam’s RAI Convention Centre next month, will bring together a dazzling array of speakers, presenters and panellists from all over the world.
Among them are Ministers from host country the Netherlands, from Ghana and Ecuador, top executives from the world’s most important cocoa and chocolate industry corporations, senior government officials from the major cocoa producing and consuming countries, cocoa farmers and their representatives from a wide range of origins, and a large number of NGOs, research and educational bodies, along with speakers whose expertise ranges from the development of the world’s chocolate markets to the effective financing of cocoa farming.
The Conference, set for 9 – 13 June, will look at the progress of governments and industry in addressing the issues identified at the first Conference, attended by over 1,000 delegates in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in 2012.
As a result, the Amsterdam edition of the Conference will look at topics including value distribution from the farm to the chocolate bar, efforts to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, improving productivity, attracting a new generation of cocoa farmers, protecting the diversity of cocoa, adding value to cocoa at origin, managing the supply deficit, promoting consumption in emerging markets and food safety issues, among many others.
The Keynote Presentation, to be made by ICCO Executive Director Dr. Jean-Marc Anga, is titled ‘How to Improve Cocoa Farmers’ Incomes’ and that theme runs through the Conference as one of the most important issues in the sector today.
The Conference, kindly hosted by the Government of the Netherlands, will be supplemented by an adjacent trade Exhibition, where some of the most important organizations in the sector will display their products and services.
Also taking place at the RAI will be a series of interactive lunchtime sessions on cocoa topics organized by well-known Dutch-based stakeholders including IDH, the Royal Tropical Institute and Solidaridad.
Conference delegates and guests will also be gathering at a number of social events both on and off the premises, highlighted by a Conference Dinner at the 17th Century Maritime Museum in the heart of the city.
To take advantage of Amsterdam’s status as the world’s top port and processing centre for cocoa, a number of site visits and sightseeing tours will also take place.
Welcome assistance for the Conference is being provided by sponsors and donors, including industry leaders Cargill, Mars, ADM Cocoa, Barry Callebaut, Mondelēz, Afreximbank, Olam, ProEcuador, and Syngenta and by BASF, Bayer Crop Science, Bühler, The Hershey Company, Filhet-Allard Maritime, Tradin Organic, StoPak and IDH.
The dedicated website for the World Cocoa Conference–where you can register online as a delegate and get information about sponsorship, exhibiting, travel to Amsterdam and accommodation–is at www.worldcocoaconference.org.
Among the issues under discussion in Zurich were the plans for the second edition of the World Cocoa Conference (WCC) at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam in June, and ICCO Executive Director Dr. Jean-Marc Anga was able to report that four Ministers were already scheduled to be on hand officially to open the event. Besides an attractive slate of speakers and panellists from around the world, he added, the Amsterdam WCC was already guaranteed to bring together a host of top executives from the world’s largest cocoa and chocolate companies.
A report on the recently concluded second Certification Workshop was also presented to the Consultative Board, highlighting progress in identifying commonalities in standards and benefits for all stakeholders, and especially cocoa producers. While the social and environmental pillars of sustainability were already being addressed, the participants of the workshop found that it was the economic pillar—which encompasses farmer livelihoods—that still required much work.
Council Chairman Anna Tofftén of Sweden who presided over the main meeting, introduced Dr. Stephen Opuni, the new CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board, and the Council considered reports from the ICCO’s Economics and Administration and Finance Committees, which both met alongside the Council in Zurich.
London, 18 March 2014 — Over 70 stakeholders from Europe, the US, Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia took part in the ICCO’s second International Workshop on Cocoa Certification in Zurich, Switzerland on 6 and 7 March, the Organization reported today.
Peru on 4 March 2014 signed the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, the United Nations Treaty Section has confirmed.
This issue of the Bulletin contains the Secretariat’s first forecasts for the 2013/2014 cocoa year, as well as data for the past four years of production and grindings of cocoa beans, detailed by country. The main features of the global cocoa market are illustrated in colour charts. In addition, the Bulletinincludes comments on crop and demand prospects in the leading countries for the current season, and a review of price developments on international markets for cocoa beans during the October-December quarter of 2013.
This issue of the Bulletin contains the Secretariat’s revised estimates for the 2012/2013 cocoa year as well as data for the past four years of production and grindings of cocoa beans, detailed by country. The main features of the global cocoa market are illustrated in colour charts. In addition, it includes comments on crop and demand prospects in the leading countries for the current season, and a review of price developments on international markets for cocoa beans during the 2012/2013 cocoa year.
