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Cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana will have to wait a little longer to receive the promised bonuses.
This comes after two American chocolate makers defaulted on their promise to pay premiums of $ 400 per ton of cocoa.
The arrangement, called a decent income differential, is intended to help improve the lives of peasant farmers, the producers of the cocoa crop.
Abidjan and Acca have accused the companies, Hershey and Mars, of switching suppliers and sourcing cheaper cocoa beans in an attempt to avoid paying premiums.
Ivory Coast and Ghana are the main cocoa producers in the world.
But much of the harvest is exported to international markets in its raw form, sometimes with little added value.
The cocoa councils of the Ivory Coast and Ghana have accused the companies of conspiring to keep farmers in poverty.
In response, Hershey said it was sourcing the crop according to “the needs of our business,” while Mars said it had supported initiatives to improve farmers’ income and livelihoods.
This year’s cocoa harvest season started in October.
