EU multi-stakeholder dialogue for sustainable cocoa

In the context of the European Commission’s political priorities including the European Green Deal and a zero tolerance approach on child labour, the Commission initiated an informal dialogue in support of a sustainable cocoa sector. It built upon the initiative of the two main producing countries, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, existing initiatives of EU Member States, partner countries, and international organisations.

Considering the role of the EU as policy and global standard setter, the objective of the dialogue is to support the elimination of child labour and child trafficking, the protection and restorations of forests, and to ensure a living income for cocoa farmers.

The dialogue aims to complement Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana’s joint initiative of June 2019 on a minimum price for cocoa on the world market and to trigger further progress on key sustainability issues in the cocoa sector in the longer term.

Over the first six months of 2021, the EU multi-stakeholder dialogue for sustainable cocoa level have had a series of roundtables, so-called Cocoa Talks, which delved into significant dimensions of sustainability:

• Living Income Differential
• Standards;
• Traceability, transparency and accountability with regards to deforestation and child labour.
• Regulations, with a focus on due diligence
• Sustainable cocoa production practices and,
• Development cooperation and finance.

For any questions and comments, feel free to contact the European Commission at  TRADE-COCOATALKS@ec.europa.eu

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