Record breaking cocoa shipment
15 February 2011 – Blommer Chocolate, North America’s largest processor of cocoa beans and ingredient chocolate products, has announced the single, largest cocoa bean shipment from West Africa is destined for their facility. The vessel, the Atlantic Tramp, carried 18,400 metric tons of cocoa, most of which is sustainably farmed, Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa and Blommer Project Cocoa beans. The shipment represents Blommer’s continued dedication to cocoa industry sustainability and social responsibility initiatives. The cocoa was harvested in October, shipped in December, arrived in the US and was delivered to port warehouses this month.
Blommer has a long history of involvement in supporting cocoa community sustainability, beginning in the early 1950s when company founder, Henry Blommer, helped found the American Cocoa Research Institute. That organisation has evolved into the World Cocoa Foundation, and Blommer’s cocoa director, Kip Walk, was the foundation’s chairman from 2008 – 2010. More than 30,000 farmers have participated in Blommer sustainability programs, and have benefited with better crop yields and premium pricing.
“About 90% of cocoa is grown on small family farms, and we feel a strong sense of commitment and responsibility to these farmers,” said Peter Blommer, president for Blommer Chocolate.
“Our sustainability efforts are two-fold: focusing on improving the livelihood of the cocoa farmers through better tools and training while keeping a sharp eye on the planet by practicing responsible, environmental stewardship.”
Blommer is involved in several sustainability programs in Ivory Coast, Indonesia and Ecuador.
A few of Blommer’s sustainability initiatives include:
Processors Alliance for Cocoa Traceability and Sustainability (PACTS) is a new, $3 million ( €2,217,795) cocoa sustainability partnership supporting farmers in Ivory Coast, West Africa. PACTS is developed in conjunction with Cemoi Chocolatier of France and Petra Foods of Southeast Asia, and the mission is to improve the supply of high quality, fermented cocoa beans while improving the livelihood of the local farming community.
Sulawesi Alliance of Farmers, Olam and Blommer Chocolate (SAFOB) is a sustainable farming program in Sulawesi, Indonesia that builds on the technical skills learned in the farmer field school initiatives developed by the World Cocoa Foundation by providing additional technical education, pricing incentives and global market access to farmers. Farmers participating in the program have achieved production increases of 50-100% and premium pricing consistent with quality gains.
Côte d’Ivoire Alliance of Farmers, Olam International and Blommer Chocolate (CIFOB) is a program developed to help cocoa farmers in West Africa to revitalize their cocoa farms and to improve cocoa quality to improve farmer incomes.
Amazon Basin Project is a coordinated effort in conjunction with BGO Conservacion and Desarolla to improve cocoa farmer livelihood and crop quality in Ecuador through the introduction of more than 200 solar dryers to improve the fermentation process. Farmers are now receiving 40% higher prices for their product because of higher quality cocoa.
