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New analysis from Trase reveals that only 48% of Ivorian cocoa exports in 2024 could be traced publicly to specific production departments through disclosures made by trading companies. The remaining 52% flowed through opaque channels – either sourced indirectly through intermediaries or undisclosed entirely by traders.
The findings expose a critical fault line in the global cocoa sustainability agenda at a time when the industry is under mounting pressure over deforestation, farmer poverty and child labour risks.
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“Cocoa supply chains in Côte d’Ivoire have driven shocking rates of forest loss, while low farmgate prices mean most farmers do not earn a living income,” said Mark Titley, researcher at Trase. “This data reinforces the outsized role of a small number of traders, whose visibility and leverage in the supply chain put them in a unique position to drive change.”
A Highly Concentrated Trade With Uneven Transparency
The report underscores how concentrated Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa economy has become. Just six trading companies accounted for 67% of all cocoa exports in 2024, giving a small group of multinationals enormous influence over environmental and social outcomes across the sector.