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The International Workshop on the Safe Use of Pesticides in Cocoa and Harmonized Legislation for Food Safety was held at the Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 25-27 January, 2011 with generous sponsorship provided by the Malaysian Cocoa Board, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture, and Innovation of the Netherlands and the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative.

The Workshop was jointly organized by the ICCO and the Malaysian Cocoa Board. The overall objective of the Workshop was to promote the safe use of pesticides throughout the cocoa value chain and to enhance the process of harmonization of legislation and regulations on pesticide residues in cocoa and related products, including standardization of analytical methods on pesticide residues.

The International Workshop brought together more than 200 participants from 18 countries spanning the five continents of the world. They included representatives from cocoa producers, traders, exporters, processors, chocolate manufacturers, chemical manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, governmental and non-governmental organizations, research institutions and universities. The workshop was conducted over three days with 15 presentations in four focus areas, each followed by a Question and Answer session and by panel discussions. The four focus areas were: legislation for food safety and analytical methods; the safe use of pesticides; alternatives to pesticides; and perspectives on pesticide legislation from key stakeholders. On the final day, following active deliberations between the audience and the prominent experts serving on the Panel, the Workshop adopted a list of final recommendations.

Please see the attached PDF document for further details.

Presentations

The Executive Director is pleased to announce that Switzerland joined the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010 on 22 December 2010 and that Sierra Leone joined the International Cocoa Agreement, 2001 on 4 October 2010.

The meetings will take place at Bloomsbury House, 2-3 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2RL. ….Details of hotels for which the ICCO has corporate rates are attached together with a location map for Bloomsbury House.

The 82nd regular session of the International Cocoa Council, the 142nd meeting of the Executive Committee and the 22nd meeting of the Consultative Board will take place in London. Agendas and Timetable to follow.

ED(mem)918 Timetable
English	French	Spanish	Russian

 

 

 

ICC/82/1/Rev.1 Agenda
English	French	Spanish	Russian

 

 

 

EX/142/1/Rev.1 Agenda
English	French	Spanish	Russian

 

 

 

CB/22/1/Rev.1 Agenda
English	French	Spanish	Russian

 

 

 

 

A three-day workshop on the outcome of the Pilot Project on Price Risk Management for Cocoa Farmers in Côte d’Ivoire was held from 11-13 May 2010 at the Hotel Ivotel in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Funded by the Common Fund for Commodities, the Workshop was organized by the International Cocoa Organization in co-operation with the Comité de Gestion de la Filière Café-Cacao and COFORMEX SARL in Abidjan.

The main objectives of the workshop were to discuss the results of the Pilot Project on Price Risk Management for Cocoa Farmers implemented in Côte d’Ivoire between February 2006 and March 2008, to draw the relevant policy implications and to consider the potential for extending the project to Cameroon and Nigeria, two countries that, in common with Côte d’Ivoire, had liberalized their cocoa sectors.

The workshop attracted approximately 100 participants, with representation from the Common Fund for Commodities, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Cocoa Organization, private consultants, organizations based in France, South Africa, the Russian Federation and Ghana as well as experts from cocoa co-operatives from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Togo.

His Excellency Mr. Calice YAPO YAPO, Minister of Commerce of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the workshop, while his counterpart, the Minister of Agriculture, was represented at the closing ceremony of the workshop by his Chief of Staff.

Day 1 of the workshop was dedicated to a review of the implementation of the pilot project, its constraints, results and lessons. Full debate took place among the representatives of local cocoa co-operatives involved in the project and other experts on issues related to training and capacity building in price risk management as well as on technical aspects of the project.

On Day 2, presentations were made by the representatives of the CFC, UNCTAD and other invited speakers on the causes, effects and implications of cocoa price volatility for governments and farmers as well as on the market instruments available to tackle it. Representatives of the cocoa sectors in Cameroon and Nigeria also provided insight on their countries’ problems in trying to address cocoa price fluctuations and the instability of farmers’ incomes. This was followed by an in-depth discussion of the issues concerned by the participants.

The workshop concluded on Day 3 with a field trip for all participants to some cocoa farms and warehouses located outside Abidjan.

The outcome of the Workshop was agreement among the participants on a number of important issues:

• Firstly, that liberalization of the cocoa and coffee sectors had been implemented without the required necessary preparation, leaving both governments and farmers in cocoa producing countries with insufficient tools to manage the (often excessive and damaging) fluctuations of cocoa prices at international level. Hence a solid capacity-building programme would be required to explain to the relevant stakeholders, in particular to farmers’ representatives and government officials, that instruments exist to assist them to cope better with price fluctuations and the resulting instability of their revenues from exports;
• Secondly, that governments should create the appropriate institutional, legal and policy framework to make price risk management tools accessible to cocoa farmers through strong and viable co-operatives; and
• Finally, it was recommended for the governments in cocoa producing countries to consider embracing price risk management as one of an array of options available to them to alleviate the negative effects of the prevailing high levels of instability of world market prices.

 French version – Press release on Workshop on price risk management in CIV 20.5.10.doc

At the 81st regular session of the International Cocoa Council, which was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 23-26 March 2010 at the generous invitation of the Government of the Republic of Cameroon, the Council approved the extension of the International Cocoa Agreement, 2001.

The text of the decision agreed by the Council is as follows:

The International Cocoa Council

Observing that the International Cocoa Agreement, 2001 entered into force on 1 October 2003 and that, on 30 September 2010, it will have reached the end of the first period of the two year extension following the fifth year of its entry into force;

Noting further that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 63, paragraph 3, the Council may extend the Agreement in whole or in part for two periods not exceeding two cocoa years each;

DECIDES

To extend the International Cocoa Agreement, 2001, in whole, for a period of two years from 1 October 2010, in accordance with the provisions of Article 63;

To request the Executive Director to transmit the present decision to the Secretary-General of the United Nations who acts as depository of the International Cocoa Agreement.”