It’s a theme that will take centre stage later this week when the WCF invites senior stakeholders to its 2025 Partnership Meeting held at the hotel conference centre.
This annual event (held last year in Amsterdam) unites cocoa farmers and experts from companies, governments, academia, financial donors and philanthropists, civil society and the media in a single forum for discussion, collaboration and shared progress on sustainability in a dialogue that is conducive for global action alignment.
Cocoa supply deficit
Members, farmer organizations, donors, decision-makers and thought leaders will come together to chart a new course forward with a cocoa sector already grappling with profound challenges – including a supply deficit in key producer countries and regulatory compliance.
Journalists from international news organisations including Reuters and Bloomberg, along with local media, were informed that although consumer demand for chocolate remains strong, it is exposed to shifting consumer preferences as a luxury product. Market challenges underscore the need to embrace and accelerate innovation, encouraging small producers to become more productive.
Vincent stressed that we live in a "new era for cocoa sustainability" and that a collaborative approach and resilience are key to overcoming the challenges.
Anthony Myers
A 'Global South-South’ exchange
The Meeting will also focus on collaboration and collective action and a ‘Global South-South’ exchange, drawing on Brazil's unique position to showcase innovations in sustainable agriculture.
Pedro Ronca, Director of CocoaAction Brasil, a WCF initiative in Brazil active since 2018, explained that the initiative is currently focusing efforts in two main areas: 1. Expanding technical and managerial assistance to cocoa producers and 2. Expanding access to credit is a measure that can contribute to the country doubling its production by 2030, reaching 400 thousand tons per year.
Marcello Brito, executive secretary, Legal Amazon Consortium of States (Consórcio Amazônia Legal) will deliver a keynote speech at the Meeting on Wednesday 19 March, emphasized to journalists cocoa's capacity for socioeconomic transformation; commenting that the sector is going through a revitalization process, which began in the state of Bahia a few years ago, and that cocoa has become a vector of environmental preservation in the Amazon, being planted in agroforestry systems, contributing to the recovery of degraded areas.
Brito stressed the importance of building productive resilience in cocoa, as is the case in Brazil in several crops (such as coffee) so that there is more efficiency, productivity and investment capacity, and so that producers can adapt to scenarios of high and low prices and market volatilities.
He also highlighted that COP-30, which will be held this year in Belém, will focus on food systems, which will spotlight Brazil and cocoa.
CocoaAction Brasil assisted with this report.
Further reading: All our coverage on the 2025 WCF PM
Anthony Myers
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