BRUSSELS – Big chocolate companies are welcoming new European Union rules that protect forests, but which risk further hitting consumer wallets.
No. 2 cocoa grower Ghana has warned that buyers should be ready to pay more because of the investment needed to set up systems tracking beans back to farms. The prospect of having to pay more for commodities like cocoa comes as inflation remains a particular problem for indulgent treats because of supply constraints. For example, cocoa futures have soared to a multi-year high and coffee prices have also jumped in London.
Ivory Coast and Ghana, the source of two-thirds of the world’s cocoa, are having to set up special systems that adhere to the EU’s requirements – such as geotagging land on which those products were harvested.Unilever, which uses chocolate for its ice creams and buys Ghanaian cocoa through processor Barry Callebaut, said the “planet desperately needs” the measures and that they’ll mean a level playing field in Europe.