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☆ With a low cocoa supply, this Valentine’s Day chocolate prices are up
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( John Towfighi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rising cocoa prices aren’t the only concern for customers this Valentine's Day. Last Thursday, Hershey Co. said it would cut 5% of its workforce after historic cocoa prices and inflation-weary consumers dampened fourth quarter earnings. “And it looks like it’s not necessarily going to subside anytime soon.”The Supreme Valentine’s Day SweetRoughly 92% of Americans say they plan to share chocolate and candy for Valentine’s Day this year, according to the National Confectioners Association. In 2023, Valentine’s Day chocolate and candy sales exceeded $4 billion, the NCA says. Issaka said that while high demand and low supply raise prices, cocoa farmers are getting squeezed.

Persons: ”, Michele Buck, Billy Roberts, ” Roberts, Lindsey Nicholson, Marnie Ives, Ives, ” Ives, “ It’s, Karl Schneider, Roberts’s, Issifu, Issaka, ” Issaka, “ I’m, Cote, Will Kletter, Sabi Ibarra Guerrero, Uwe Gneiting, Gneiting, Joke Aerts, Aerts, ” Aerts, Sia Kambou, Price, Tony’s, “, they’ve, CNN’s Eva Rothenberg Organizations: CNN, Hershey Co, National Confectioners Association, NCA, Cocoa, Oxfam America, Getty, Fairtrade, Cote d’Ivoire, “ Locations: West Africa, North America, Manhattan, Queens , New York, Neck, NY, Bloomfield , NJ, Ghana, North Region, Cote d’Ivoire, Silicon, Africa, Accra, Cote, Hermankono, AFP

☆ Mars, accused of using child labor in its supply chain, says it aims to end the practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

For more than two decades, the world's largest chocolate makers have been pledging to eliminate — or at least reduce their reliance on — child labor. For its part, Mars' latest deadline to end child labor in its supply chain is 2025. The company said more than 65% of its West African cocoa supply chain has already achieved compliance. Read the full statement from Mars below:Mars unequivocally condemns the use of child labor. It has no place in our supply chain, and we are fully committed to helping to eradicate it.

Persons: Mars, Cargill Organizations: CBS News, CNBC, CBS, of Washington, Cargill, U.S, Supreme, Nestle USA, Labor, Cocoa Initiative, ICI, Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, CNBC PRO Locations: Ghana, Superior, West Africa

☆ Starbucks is developing climate-proof coffee
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Coffee is a finicky crop — arabica coffee, the most popular variety, in particular. Joshua Trujillo/StarbucksSo Starbucks, which says it purchases about 3% of all the world’s coffee, is developing new arabica varietals that are specifically cultivated to hold up better on a warming planet. They, along with other coffee farmers across the globe, are struggling to adapt to global warming. But arabica coffee, the only variety used by Starbucks, is especially at risk. Starbucks has been working on developing new coffee varietals.

Persons: IADB, Joshua Trujillo, Michelle Burns, Carlos Mario Rodriguez, Suzanne Shriner, Shriner, ”, “ we’re, Miguel Gomez, it’s, Monika Firl, Burns, Cornell’s Gomez Organizations: New, New York CNN, Inter, American Development Bank, Starbucks, Lions, Coffee Research, Cornell’s Dyson, Applied Economics, Management, Fairtrade Locations: New York, America, Caribbean, Hacienda Alsacia, Costa Rica, Hawaii

LONDON/NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Chocolate and coffee makers including Italy's Lavazza and Cadbury-maker Mondelez are concerned about the "practicalities" of a new European Union law aimed at stopping deforestation. Several major investors told Reuters last month that concerns about their exposure to the issue could lead them to quit consumer goods makers with "risky" supply chains. Oreo-maker Mondelez told Reuters it is "not clear on how they (EU authorities) will control or implement this" law. "It is entirely possible to trace coffee supply chains, despite their complexity. Italian confectionary group Ferrero wants the EU to provide specific guidance on compliance for each commodity because supply chains vary greatly between them.

Persons: Italy's, Mondelez, Giuseppe Lavazza, Lavazza, Christophe Hansen, Dirk Van de, Solidaridad, Julia Christian, Fern, Van de, Ferrero, Snorre, Matthew Scuffham, Catherine Evans Organizations: Cadbury, European Union, Reuters, European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: EU

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) is piloting a scheme to give cash to coffee farmers who grow beans sustainably as part of its plan to halve greenhouse gas emissions in its coffee business by 2030, the food company said on Tuesday. The move comes as major consumer goods companies face increased reputational and legal pressure to clean up their supply chains globally. Nestle, the world's largest packaged food company has pledged to spend $1 billion by 2030 on its plan to source coffee sustainably, which now includes efforts to boost farmer income. The company said it has, under the plan, offered some 3,000 coffee farmers in developing countries like Ivory Coast, Indonesia and Mexico conditional cash incentives to encourage them to transition to regenerative agricultural practices. These include using organic fertilisers to improve soil fertility, planting shade trees that protect coffee beans and intercropping to preserve biodiversity.

Persons: Maytaal Angel, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Nestle, Rainforest Alliance, European Union, Fairtrade, Technoserve, Thomson Locations: Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Mexico

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