> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://cocoaradar.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # CAA Conference Day One: Resilience, Demand And Regulation Dominate Singapore Debate - URL: https://cocoaradar.com/caa-conference-day-one-resilience-demand-and-regulation-dominate-singapore-debate/ - Published: 2026-09-04T01:22:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-04T01:22:29.000Z - Description: From price volatility and supply constraints to Asia’s processing growth and the approaching EUDR deadline, Day One of the CAA International Cocoa Conference examined how the industry can build a more resilient, investable and equitable future - Author: Anthony Myers - Tags: CAAICC2026 The cocoa industry’s capacity to withstand further disruption – and the investment required to address its underlying vulnerabilities – dominated the opening day of the Cocoa Association of Asia’s fourth conference in Singapore. Across four wide-ranging sessions, industry leaders examined constrained supply, volatile prices, changing consumption, climate and disease risks, cocoa-processing trends and the growing demands of European regulation. Advertisement [ ![Foodmasters-innovation-experience](https://storage.ghost.io/c/42/e5/42e56cb4-2135-4886-b7a8-860153b64965/content/images/size/w1400/format/webp/2025/12/FMF-Newsletter-Banner-300x250px-300dpi-251128.jpg) ](https://www.foodmasters-freiberg.com/en/?utm%5Fsource=ghost&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ad&utm%5Fcontent=qsm%5Fplaceholder) The discussions revealed an industry that adapted rapidly to the historic price shock of 2024, but which continues to face pressure on demand, investment and consumer affordability. ## **Resilience Requires Sustainable Economics** The conference opened with *In Conversation With Some Of Cocoa’s Most Prominent Leaders*, a discussion held under the Chatham House Rule. Comments from the session are therefore reported without identifying individual participants or their organisations. A central message was that every part of the cocoa value chain – from farmers and traders to processors, manufacturers, retailers and consumers – needs a viable economic model. Without adequate returns throughout the chain, participants argued, the sector will struggle to finance productivity improvements, sustainability programmes, scientific research and long-term resilience. The panel distinguished between measures that helped companies navigate the immediate price shock and the structural changes required to strengthen cocoa supply over the next decade. Short-term responses included securing alternative finance, sourcing different origins and qualities, operating with exceptionally low stocks, reformulating products and passing part of the cost increase to customers and consumers. Those measures demonstrated the industry’s adaptability, but participants said the after-effects remained visible in weaker demand, lower volumes, pressure on earnings and reduced appetite for capital investment. Volatility was described as particularly damaging for smaller and locally based businesses, which can face sudden increases in working-capital requirements without equally rapid support from their banks. ## **Productivity And Investment Cannot Wait** Climate change, shifting weather patterns, ageing trees, crop disease and years of underinvestment were identified as structural threats rather than temporary disruptions. Participants said the recent supply crisis should not be viewed as the consequence of a single El Niño event. Instead, the industry needs to assess resilience over a ten-year horizon. Improving farm productivity was presented as a priority, especially in regions where expanding the area under cultivation is neither practical nor desirable. Better planting material, disease-resistant varieties, scientific research, improved farming practices and more effective delivery of knowledge and support to farming communities were among the proposed responses. Diversifying production across additional origins could also reduce the industry’s exposure to concentrated supply risks. However, cocoa trees take several years to become productive. Investment made now will determine what supply looks like towards the end of the decade. Closer collaboration between companies, governments, industry associations, researchers and farming communities was repeatedly encouraged. One proposal was the formation of a pre-competitive alliance to accelerate work on science, productivity and supply-chain resilience, although no formal commitment was made. Artificial intelligence was also discussed as a way to augment human decision-making rather than replace it. Potential applications included forecasting, crop development, productivity improvements and product reformulation. The challenge, participants said, is turning technological capability into practical solutions that farmers and other stakeholders can understand and use. Some participants anticipated a tight or deficit cocoa market in 2026–27, although they emphasised that relatively small changes in consumer demand could materially alter the balance. ![Image shows The What In The Cocoa World Is Going On?! panle at the CAA Conference with Anthony Myers (far left) and Chris de Lavigne, Wisdom Kofi Dogbey and Michel Arrion. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/42/e5/42e56cb4-2135-4886-b7a8-860153b64965/content/images/2026/09/what-in-cocoa-world-is-going-on_CAA26.jpeg) The first plenary session on Wednesday afternoon was: What In The Cocoa World Is Going On?! Moderated by Anthony Myers (far left) with Chris de Lavigne, Wisdom Kofi Dogbey and Michel Arrion. Image: cocoaradar.com ## **A Structural Shift In Cocoa** After the lunch break, CocoaRadar founder and editor-in-chief Anthony Myers moderated three business-focused sessions examining the market, grindings and regulation. In *What In The Cocoa World Is Going On?!*, Deloitte’s Chris de Lavigne argued that the sector was heading towards fundamental structural change. The discussion took place in the same week that Côte d’Ivoire set its guaranteed farmgate price for the 2026–27 main crop at CFA1,200 ($2.12) per kilogram. The price maintained the level introduced for the preceding mid-crop and came in at the bottom of the CFA1,200–1,500 range anticipated by industry observers. Michel Arrion, executive director of the International Cocoa Organization, told delegates that global grindings had fallen by almost half a million tonnes between 2023 and 2025. He argued that the decline did not simply mean consumers had stopped eating chocolate. Instead, part of it reflected manufacturers reducing the amount of cocoa incorporated into their products. Arrion cited findings from an ICCO-commissioned study indicating an 8–10% reduction in cocoa incorporation by major brands—a finding that surprised many delegates. Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, managing director of Cocoa Marketing Company Ghana, reaffirmed Ghana’s importance to the global market. He said the country had completed the 2025–26 season with production of approximately 750,000 tonnes, compared with 597,000 tonnes in the previous season. However, he stressed the need for more farm investment to replace ageing and diseased trees and improve productivity. Farm gate incentives, finance, agricultural inputs and new planting will all be essential if Ghana is to sustain its recovery. He also highlighted the country's new Cocoa Board Act that will offer more protection to farmers and boost sustainability initiatives. ## **Asia Defies The Grindings Slowdown** Supply, demand and processing trends were explored further during *Will Cocoa Grind To A Halt?* The panel brought together Eric Bergman of JSG Commodities, Paul Felix Tioputra of Cargill, Paul Arendsen of Barry Callebaut, Michael Clark of Mondelēz International and Max Goettler of JB Cocoa. Against the legacy of record bean prices, persistent supply concerns, cost-of-living pressures and expanding regulatory requirements, the panel considered whether grindings and chocolate consumption could withstand further pressure. Asia’s divergence from other major processing regions emerged as a central theme. The region was described as an increasingly important centre for cocoa processing, chocolate manufacturing, product innovation, consumer growth and supply-chain connectivity. CAA figures showed that Asia’s second-quarter 2026 cocoa grind rose by just over 25% year on year to 224,646 tonnes. The increase indicated resilient processing activity despite elevated cocoa costs. The possible return of El Niño remained in the background, alongside continuing supply pressure and the risk of demand destruction. These factors are expected to influence processing decisions in the coming quarters. The panel also pointed to the resilience of premium chocolate and growing consumer interest in products with higher cocoa content. Potential health benefits associated with higher-cocoa chocolate could offer the industry an alternative growth narrative at a time when some manufacturers are reducing cocoa content or introducing substitutes. ## **Asia Prepares For Europe’s Regulatory Test** The final session, *EU Crash Test*, examined whether Asia and the wider cocoa industry are ready for Europe’s changing regulatory landscape. Michael Bucki, counsellor on environment and agriculture at the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, drew on his experience with the rubber and palm oil sectors. He described how operators were using innovation to build sophisticated data and traceability platforms that could provide lessons for Asian cocoa supply chains preparing for the EU Deforestation Regulation. Matthijs de Meer, director of EU affairs and sustainability at the European Cocoa Association, cautioned that implementation would still bring teething problems. Trust, transparency and the ability of industry systems to connect effectively with the EU’s infrastructure will be critical. Large and medium-sized operators are due to begin applying the EUDR requirements from 30 December 2026, with a later deadline for most micro and small operators. Questions also remain over who will absorb the cost of duplicated processes, legal liability and additional compliance requirements. Sarah Dekkiche, director of policy and partnerships at the International Cocoa Initiative, urged companies to treat child labour, forced labour and human-rights due diligence as more than a reporting exercise. The risk, she said, is that the industry could build increasingly sophisticated systems around the symptoms of its social problems while leaving farmer poverty fundamentally untouched. Poorly designed requirements could also push additional costs further down the supply chain. Fuzz Kitto, co-director of Be Slavery Free and the Chocolate Scorecard, said the approach of regulation had already helped drive greater corporate engagement with traceability data. Drawing on seven years of Chocolate Scorecard findings covering companies responsible for roughly nine out of every 10 cocoa beans traded globally, he said companies were no longer arguing that fuller traceability was impossible once regulation required it. Kitto emphasised the need to address causes rather than symptoms. Living income, transparency and traceability were closely connected to deforestation, child and forced labour, agroforestry, chemical use, gender and farmer health, he said. The panel broadly expected the EU, governments and larger industry operators to have their core systems ready by the end of 2026\. Whether those systems will operate seamlessly – and whether implementation will be consistent across the market – remains less certain. ## **An Integrated Challenge** Day One underlined that cocoa resilience cannot be delivered through a single intervention. Supply, productivity, farmer income, consumer affordability, traceability and human rights form an interconnected system. Shifting costs or risks from one participant to another may relieve immediate pressure, but it will not create a durable cocoa economy. The industry has demonstrated that it can adapt under extreme conditions. Its next challenge is to turn that adaptability into sustained investment before the next disruption arrives. --- **cocoaradar.com is:** - **Official Media Partner -** [**CAA International Cocoa Conference**](https://www.caacocoaconference.org/programme?ref=cocoaradar.com) - **'From Our Desk. To Yours. Daily'** - [**Sign-up here**](https://cocoaradar.com/#/portal) **for free and choose your plan.**