The future of the cocoa sector
Graced by the presence of the Ivorian Minister of Trade, the Ecuadorian Vice Minister of Agriculture and Ambassadors from Brazil, Ivory Coast, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, the 90th meetings of the World Cocoa Council and its subsidiary bodies addressed a number of issues of relevance to the future of the cocoa sector and of the ICCO itself, at the Holiday Inn, Wembley, London from 15-18 September 2014.
A meeting of the recently expanded Consultative Board on the World Cocoa Economy initiated proceedings, with private sector and civil society representatives tackling subjects as varied as the recent World Cocoa Conference in Amsterdam, the need for a global cocoa resource base and the necessity for openness and transparency in addressing the issues of the Global Cocoa Agenda.
The board meeting also included a live presentation relayed from Agrocalidad in Ecuador by Mr Rommel Betancourt, updating members on continuing talks aimed at setting safe and practical limits for cadmium content in cocoa and chocolate. Another report, from Dr Philippe Bastide of French research agency CIRAD, looked at cocoa-based farm models.
The main Council’s work began with the election of spokespersons for both the exporting and importing countries. As a result, Mr Aly Toure of Ivory Coast now represents the producing countries, while Mr Conradin Rasi of Switzerland speaks for the consuming nations.
The Council was shown a film of the facilities of the venue in Bávaro, Dominican Republic, which is to be put at the disposal of the ICCO for the third edition of the World Cocoa Conference, and the representative of the Dominican Republic, Dr Jose Antonio Martinez, explained that, among other highlights, the President of his country, HE Mr Danilo Medina, would give the inaugural address. The Council agreed with the proposal that the conference would be held alongside the March 2016 meetings of the Council, its subsidiary bodies and of the consultative board, and the dates have now been set at 14–19 March 2016. Speaking on behalf of the government of the host country, HE Dr Federico Cuello, Ambassador to the UK of the Dominican Republic, said that the third edition of the Conference would be a positive and memorable event for the whole sector.
The next ICCO Council and subsidiary meetings, including that of the Consultative Board, are to take place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 23–27 March 2015. The Ivorian Minister of Trade, HE Mr Jean-Luc Billon, told the Council that his government attached great importance to the international cocoa economy, and that his country would be pleased to welcome the Council members to Abidjan next March 2015, and to ensure that the meetings would be a great success.
