HOW WE AIM TO END EXPLOITATION IN COCOA, TOGETHER
Whilst the cocoa industry is changing, the key issues in cocoa remain the same – and we are running out of time. Looking at the cocoa industry this past season, we see that, whilst conditions have changed, the realities for farmers remain largely the same. As noted in the 2025 Cocoa Barometer, the cocoa industry has seen massive leaps forward in terms of regulatory developments, sector-wide collaboration and visibility of rightsholders, but the problems we are trying to solve – poverty, child labour and deforestation – have not changed. 10 With the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and Forced Labour Regulation (FLR), companies will be required to implement full traceability and greater levels of due diligence across their supply chains, promising greater transparency for the sector in the near future. With it comes the hope that companies will act on the issues they find.
At the same time, child labour remains widespread 11 , deforestation in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana persists at alarming rates 12 , and, despite the welcome rise in farmgate prices in both countries 13 , most cocoa farmers still struggle to earn a living income. Decades of underpayment have left farmers unable to invest in their farms, contributing to lower yields and the spread of pests and diseases. These, in turn, continue to increase cocoa farmers’ vulnerability amid the growing threats of climate change. With 2030 now just 5 years away, the world is significantly off track in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN’s 2025 Progress Report shows that only 18% of SDGs are currently on track, with poverty-related goals even regressing. 14
10. Fountain, Antonie C., and Friedel Huetz-Adams. 2025 Cocoa Barometer. VOICE Network, Oct. 2025, pp. 8, 13. 11. International Cocoa Initiative. Annual Report 2024. ICI Cocoa Initiative, 2024. 12. See Peprah, Dennis. “Ghana Losses 120,000 Hectares of Forest Cover Annually — GloMeF.” Ghana News Agency, 22 Mar. 2025, and Forest Trends. “Côte d’Ivoire.” Forest Trends, 2025.
13. International Cocoa Initiative. Annual Report 2024. ICI, 2024. 14. United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025.
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Ending exploitation in cocoa together
Living income
Climate, environment & productivity
Human rights
Governance & finances
Interesting appendices
Scaling for change
Introduction
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