Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have suspended pre-sales of the 2020-2021 season cocoa crop as the governments work to institute a base price for cocoa from those countries.

A panel highlighting the launch of a Lutheran World Relief initiative designed to assist small-scale cocoa and coffee farmers in Latin America is set for the Fine Chocolate Industry Association’s (FCIA) “Elevate Chocolate” event next month.

The Hershey Co. has released action plans against deforestation under the company’s commitments as a founding member of the Cocoa & Forest Initiative. 

Guittard Chocolate Co., as part of its Cultivate Better sustainability platform, has expanded its flavor quality work in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Indonesia.

Fairtrade International is raising the prices it will pay for conventional and organic cocoa next fall after world cocoa prices dropped by more than a third last year.

Mars, Inc. and the Rainforest Alliance, in partnership with Touton and the Grameen Foundation, have launched in Ghana SAT4Farming, an initiative using digital technology and satellite imagery to guide farmers over a seven-year period.

The Government of Colombia — along with its two largest cocoa companies, Casa Luker and Compañía Nacional de Chocolates, and the National Cocoa Federation — has committed to eliminate deforestation from the country’s cocoa supply chain by 2020.  

Puratos Group has introduced its Cacao-Trace sustainable cocoa sourcing program to Papua New Guinea. 

Swiss cocoa and chocolate products manufacturer Barry Callebaut continues to make strides toward sustainable cocoa farming.