Senior figures from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana cancelled plans to attend the meeting in order to address the growing price crisis in their home countries.
More than 500 delegates gathered at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam for the annual event, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands.
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In his opening remarks, Chris Vincent, President of the World Cocoa Foundation, underscored the scale of recent market turbulence.
“We are confronting unprecedented volatility in cocoa prices,” he said. “Prices tripled in just three months, fluctuating around $8,000 per tonne.”
Vincent stressed the need for collective action to strengthen supply chain resilience and sustainability, particularly in the face of disease, climate pressures and evolving regulatory requirements.