Few consumers of this sweet delicacy really know what is behind such a delicious and appreciated gastronomic product. The cocoa production As the main raw material, it is being made, even today, in terms subhuman. We talk about chocolate in africaSince the largest quantities in the world come from this continent. For years, attempts have been made to improve this aspect but the efforts are not enough and the situation worsens. We tell you how this problem is and what actions are being taken to try to correct them.
The African continent, the great world producer
Of the all cocoa production worldwide, Africa produces two thirds of the global. The rest is produced in Central American countries such as Ecuador, Peru and Asian countries such as Indonesia. Within the African continent, Ivory Coast is the great producer since it harvests the 50% of African production and a third of total world cocoa.
In this country they are dedicated to cocoa more than a million farmers who live poorly with salaries that barely exceed the daily euro. In Ghana, the neighboring country, which is also one of the major producers of cocoa of the area, the conditions are very similar. The same thing happens in Cameroon and other surrounding countries.
Furthermore, the presión for the higher production and productivity translates into a continuous deforestation that affects even natural parks, seriously reducing the biodiversity of the regions. The exploitation and enslavement of children in the cocoa harvest is also very common in these African nations.
The trade and production of cocoa
According to some studies, only 5% of the value of chocolate in Africa reaches the farmer's hands. They are the local intermediaries and the three large global multinationals of their raw material (Cargill, Olam and Barry Callebaut) those that achieve the highest product performance. Also they consumers who buy a high-value product at a low price.
One of the great existing problems is that those years in which the price of raw material rises, the increase it fails to benefit farmers. Chocolate multinationals like Cadbury o Nestlé they buy cocoa in futures markets, prioritizing and conditioning the price. Also looking elsewhere and ignoring the Labor conditions of those who cultivate the fruit.
Most of the farmers who work for the chocolate in africa they have a very small area of land that does not usually reach the 4 hectares. Women and children harvest the cocoa berries when they are ripe. Subsequently, they open each of the cocoa berries and remove the seeds that they allow to ferment. Once dry, they are collected by local buyers, who accumulate a sufficient quantity to resell them to wholesalers and cocoa exporters.
Much of this work is done children of the family that owns the land. In some cases children exploited in slavery that obviously they will never go to school. Something that is becoming more and more frequent, unfortunately. For all this, the European Union has been doomed to intervene in a great economic and social problem where both recurring phenomena are mixed in Africa.
Fair trade with chocolate in Africa
There are companies and cooperatives that are conscious of this big problem. Many of them are looking for a solution to avoid marketing a product that mistreats its producers. In this solution, undoubtedly, the seals of fair trade They help to stop what is happening but it is not being a sufficient measure.
La only solution, as in many other products, it is the consumer awareness and that in times of "storytellingLearn what's behind your daily ounce of chocolate. Only customer pressure and information that there is no fair price for producers can end this serious problem.
The position of the European Union
The large social, economic and environmental problem of the producing countries chocolate in africa He has reached Brussels. This week, the UE has launched an initiative to open talks with the Ivory Coast and Ghana to address it. To carry out this initiative, a series of thematic groups established in the framework of the multi-stakeholder dialogue will meet in the coming months. All this to discuss ways to promote responsible practices of European companies on the continent. Those who participate in supply chains of cocoa.
The main objectives are to make sure that the price increase of cocoa is translated and linked to actions to stop deforestation and eliminate the child labor. We will see if they can reach hopeful agreements that improve the situations that children have been living with for so long. chocolate in Africa.
