French-headquartered commodities group, Touton, has recently released its latest annual sustainability report, placing renewed focus on enhancing crop mapping ahead of EUDR requirements, writes Neill Barston.

The company reported that it has traded in a total of  400,000 metric tonnes of cocoa, coffee and ingredients, with products classified as sustainable accounting for 45% of total tonnage.

According to the business, it has honoured 100% of its contracts and continued to strengthen its readiness for the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is set to finally enter into law at the end of next month, after a two year delay.

In addition, the company noted in its latest report that it has had to adapt to shifting conditions in the market, which has required focus on responding to changing customer demands. 

Moreover, as the business asserted, it has placed an emphasis on stronger quality management, supplier oversight, traceability and data systems help them assess risks, make informed decisions and demonstrate progress against the group’s commitments.

As the business noted, Hartree , an international trading company that shares Touton’s merchant culture and long-term outlook, brings greater financial capacity and new opportunities to develop the group’s activities.

Furthermore, the business noted that it has placed an additional focus on more accurately charting its carbon footprint, underpinning its decarbonisation roadmap to 2035.

Accurate mapping
According to the company, it has some 415,000 cocoa and coffee plots, covering more than 600 000 hectares, which has now been mapped and verified by the end of the financial year.

That focus on reliable systems extends to product quality: the group’s IFS Broker audit score rose to over 92%. In Madagascar, the first vanilla volumes produced under Touton’s PACT STANDARD reached the market, bringing its responsible sourcing approach to a new stage.

Additionally, Touton retains its identity and the expertise built across its businesses and producing countries. Patrick de Boussac remains Chairman, while a new executive management team led by Olivier Lieutard takes the business forward.

Patrick de Boussac, President of Touton group, welcomed its latest report, 
“Three words capture the past year for me: transformation, transition and transmission. Joining Hartree brings new resources and opportunities while allowing Touton to retain its identity and merchant culture. After more than forty years with Touton, I am proud of what we have built together and confident in the new leadership team.”

For Olivier Lieutard, Chief Executive Officer of Touton group, this next chapter builds on the role Touton plays between producers and customers:
“The widening gap between producers and consumers is, to us, a central concern, and it is precisely where our expertise and services make a tangible difference. Far from being a mere intermediary, the trader acts as a reliable counterparty, supporting market liquidity, price formation, risk management and confidence.”

From a market perspective, Antoine Delsart, Managing Director and Director of the Cocoa Department, summed up its portfolio, which had seen challenges across its core markets.

He explained: “Cocoa swung from a historic deficit to an estimated record surplus in barely two years; coffee entered a fifth consecutive year of deficit, compounded by an unprecedented tariff shock; and vanilla moved from scarcity to abundance, with prices back to levels not seen in a decade. Beneath these contrasting cycles runs a common thread: markets that no longer move in straight lines, and a trading model that must absorb volatility, regulation, the impact of climate change and geopolitics at once.”