May 2010

With the start of the new decade, the UTZ CERTIFIED Cocoa Program has hit the ground running. Since 2007, we have had the honor and pleasure to work with many organizations to design a program that bridges the needs of farmers and consumers in an achievable and meaningful way. This year, the first consumers have enjoyed UTZ CERTIFIED chocolate and the first farmers have received premiums on their UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa beans. Many more will follow. Read here about the latest developments.

Certified volumes increasing

Nine months after the first certification, 4,500 farmers and workers in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Costa Rica are now working according to the UTZ CERTIFIED Code of Conduct for Cocoa. Together they will produce 12,500 metric tons of certified responsible cocoa per year. Various traders and processors can now offer UTZ cocoa.

Further audits have taken place or have been planned in Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Peru and Dominican Republic. Train-the-trainer activities and farmer trainings are also on-going in other key regions, such as Indonesia and Nigeria, so that companies will soon be able to source from all mainstream origins. For large cocoa farms that prefer individual certification, UTZ CERTIFIED has launched a separate Code of Conduct. Download it here.

Important company commitments

In February 2010, Armajaro, FrieslandCampina and Euromar joined Cargill, Ecom, Heinz Benelux, Mars, Nestlé, Royal Ahold, Chocolat Frey, Ludwig Schokolade and Barry Callebaut as program members. Many other companies from all parts of the cocoa chain have also joined the program since then.

In the Netherlands, the market is particularly turbulent. Leading chocolate companies and retailers have signed a letter of intent, together with government and civil society actors, to move to 80% certified cocoa by 2020 and 100% by 2025. As a first step, many Dutch consumers will be eating UTZ CERTIFIED 'chocolate letters' this December.

For more information please visit: www.utzcertified.org/cocoa

Linking the global program to local reality

While a global Code of Conduct creates international assurance of responsible cocoa production, realities on the ground and national policies differ substantially from one country to the next. UTZ CERTIFIED addresses this by creating national guidance documents for key producing countries and regions, together with local stakeholders.

In February 2010, UTZ CERTIFIED and its local partner West African Fair Fruit organized a workshop in Accra, Ghana, to create the Ghanaian guidance document, bringing together over 100 participants from many different organizations and backgrounds. The workshop was formally opened by the Acting Director of Research, Marketing and Evaluation at COCOBOD, Mr. Osei-Owusu, who welcomed the initiative, expressed his hope that voluntary standards like UTZ CERTIFIED will have a significant positive impact on cocoa farmers, and encouraged farmers to find out more about this opportunity.

The guidance document, titled 'Ghana Annex', can be downloaded from the UTZ CERTIFIED website. A stakeholder workshop to create the Côte d'Ivoire Annex will be held in Abidjan on June 8 and 9.

Certified cocoa in the supply chain

All companies physically handling UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa in the supply chain require so-called 'Chain of Custody' certification. The Chain of Custody requirements determine how to account for and handle UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa and cocoa products. They offer participating companies flexibility and at the same time credible entry levels to start communicating about their commitments.

For questions about labelling and communications of certified cocoa products, you can contact communications @ utzcertified.org. Various materials are available to provide information and inspiration.

Farmers receive premiums for certified cocoa from Cargill during an official celebration after more than 8 months of intensive training (April 2010)