The Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 19 September 2012 convened a meeting of the parties that had negotiated and concluded the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010, pursuant to Article 57, paragraph 3 of the Agreement.
The meeting noted that the Governments of six cocoa exporting countries; namely the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Gabon, Guinea and Togo, accounting for 43.17% of votes as set out in Annex “A” to the Agreement and the Governments of importing countries, comprising the European Union and Switzerland, accounting for 54.90% of votes, as set out in Annex “B” of the Agreement, have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or have notified the depositary that they will apply the Agreement provisionally when it enters into force. (These countries are listed in Annex I of the decision, reproduced below).
These Governments decided that they would put the International Cocoa Agreement into force provisionally among themselves in whole as of 1 October 2012.
The Governments further decided that any State which, by 30 September 2012, deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or notifies the depositary that it will apply the Agreement provisionally when it enters into force, shall be deemed to be listed in Annex I to the present decision.
During the course of the meeting, the governments of countries that are party to the International Cocoa Agreement, 2001 issued formal statements to the International Cocoa Council, confirming that they are in the process of signing and ratifying the new Agreement and that they expect to complete these formalities by the end of the upcoming 2012/2013 cocoa year.
As a result, the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010 is on track to have 48 Member countries, four more than the 2001 Agreement, including four new exporting countries: Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Indonesia. Together, the 19 exporting country members of the Agreement will account for over 95% of global cocoa output, while the 29 importing country members will account for approximately 55% of global imports.
The full text of the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010, can be downloaded in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, by clicking here.
Click here to see the official notification of entry into force of the Agreement from the United Nations.
Annex I
INTERNATIONAL COCOA AGREEMENT, 2010
Exporting Members |
Importing Members |
Congo (Democratic Republic) |
European Union: |
Côte d’Ivoire |
– Austria |
The Dominican Republic |
– Belgium |
Gabon |
– Bulgaria |
Guinea |
– Cyprus |
Togo |
– The Czech Republic |
|
– Denmark |
|
– Estonia |
|
– Finland |
|
– France |
|
– Germany |
|
– Greece |
|
– Hungary |
|
– Ireland |
|
– Italy |
|
– Latvia |
|
– Lithuania |
|
– Luxembourg |
|
– Malta |
|
– Netherlands |
|
– Romania |
|
– Poland |
|
– Slovakia |
|
– Slovenia |
|
– Spain |
|
– Sweden |
|
– United Kingdom |
|
Non-members of the European Union: |
|
– Switzerland |
Abidjan Declaration climaxes the World Cocoa Conference
The Conference, which was attended by over 1,200 delegates from cocoa producing and consuming nations all over the world, climaxed with the signing of the Abidjan Cocoa Declaration by representatives of the cocoa sector stakeholders, including governments, producers, processors, exporters, traders, chocolate manufacturers and civil society. The Declaration aims to move the entire sector onto a path of sustainable development that will benefit all stakeholders along the cocoa value chain.
Among the other topics debated by over 90 speakers and panelists at the Conference were cocoa certification, developing a sustainable industry and consumption of cocoa, methods of increasing productivity and improving farmer incomes. The huge range of presentations also informed delegates about the latest developments in the sector, from producer representatives originating from all over West Africa, as well as from Latin America and Asia, and attendees considered the various initiatives under way to help the development of the sector and the millions that depend on it worldwide.![](https://iccoserver.com/images/news/exhibition-visitors.jpg)
The Conference, which was organized by the ICCO and hosted by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, is to serve as the first stage in the development of the Global Cocoa Agenda, which recommends a series of actions for all stakeholders in order to develop the world’s cocoa sector. The next edition of the Conference, which will track the progress of the initiatives proposed this week, is due to take place in the Netherlands in 2014.
The Global Cocoa Agenda and the Abidjan Cocoa Declaration, as well as most of the presentations made at the World Cocoa Conference, are now available to download here.
Liberia joins the International Cocoa Agreement 2010
Liberia on 13 November 2012 signed the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, the United Nations Treaty Section has confirmed.
Click here to see the official notification of signature to the Agreement from the United Nations.
New cocoa certification studies now available to download
Two new studies on cocoa certification commissioned by the ICCO are now available to be downloaded from the website.
The reports, Study on the costs, advantages and disadvantages of cocoa certification, by KPMG and Étude sur les coûts, les avantages et les désavantages de la certification du cacao, by Global Business Consulting Company, both published in October 2012, can be downloaded from the ICCO documents section of the site here.
The ICCO would like to give special thanks to the Governments of the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, as well as to the Association of the German Confectionery Industry BDSI, for their generous contributions towards funding these essential studies of cocoa certification.
The International Cocoa Agreement 2010 enters into force
The Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 19 September 2012 convened a meeting of the parties that had negotiated and concluded the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010, pursuant to Article 57, paragraph 3 of the Agreement.
The meeting noted that the Governments of six cocoa exporting countries; namely the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Gabon, Guinea and Togo, accounting for 43.17% of votes as set out in Annex “A” to the Agreement and the Governments of importing countries, comprising the European Union and Switzerland, accounting for 54.90% of votes, as set out in Annex “B” of the Agreement, have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or have notified the depositary that they will apply the Agreement provisionally when it enters into force. (These countries are listed in Annex I of the decision, reproduced below).
These Governments decided that they would put the International Cocoa Agreement into force provisionally among themselves in whole as of 1 October 2012.
The Governments further decided that any State which, by 30 September 2012, deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or notifies the depositary that it will apply the Agreement provisionally when it enters into force, shall be deemed to be listed in Annex I to the present decision.
During the course of the meeting, the governments of countries that are party to the International Cocoa Agreement, 2001 issued formal statements to the International Cocoa Council, confirming that they are in the process of signing and ratifying the new Agreement and that they expect to complete these formalities by the end of the upcoming 2012/2013 cocoa year.
As a result, the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010 is on track to have 48 Member countries, four more than the 2001 Agreement, including four new exporting countries: Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Indonesia. Together, the 19 exporting country members of the Agreement will account for over 95% of global cocoa output, while the 29 importing country members will account for approximately 55% of global imports.
The full text of the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010, can be downloaded in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, by clicking here.
Click here to see the official notification of entry into force of the Agreement from the United Nations.
Annex I
INTERNATIONAL COCOA AGREEMENT, 2010
Sierra Leone joins the International Cocoa Agreement 2010
Sierra Leone on 1 October 2012 signed the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, the United Nations Treaty Section has confirmed.
Click here to see the official notification of signature to the Agreement from the United Nations.
Trinidad and Tobago joins the International Cocoa Agreement 2010
Trinidad and Tobago on 24 September 2012 signed the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, the United Nations Treaty Section has confirmed.
Click here to see the official notification of signature to the Agreement from the United Nations.
August 2012 Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics
28 August 2012–The International Cocoa Organization today released its revised forecasts for the 2011/2012 cocoa year and revised estimates for 2010/2011 of world production, grindings and stocks of cocoa beans, summarized below. The data published in Issue No. 3 – Volume XXXVIII – Cocoa year 2011/2012 of the Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, reflect the most recent information available to the Secretariat as at the beginning of August 2012.
Summary of revised forecasts and estimates
(Oct-Sep)
estimates
forecasts a/
forecasts
Notes:
a/ Forecasts published in Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, Vol. XXXVIII – No. 2 – Cocoa year 2011/2012
b/ Surplus/deficit: net world crop (gross crop adjusted for loss in weight) minus grindings
Totals and differences may differ due to rounding.
Statistical information on trade in cocoa beans, cocoa products and chocolate, by country and by region, published in this edition, covers annual data from 2008/2009 to 2010/2011 and quarterly statistics for the period April-June 2010 to October-December 2011. Details of origin of imports and destination of exports for leading cocoa importing countries are also provided. Historical statistics on cocoa trade and consumption, by country and by region, for the period 2002/2003 to 2010/2011 are presented for reference.
Copies of the Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, including in Microsoft Excel files and in Adobe PDF format, can be ordered from the website or from the ICCO Secretariat at the address below:
International Cocoa Organization
Commonwealth House
1-19 New Oxford Street
London WC1A 1NU, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7400 5050
Fax: +44 (0)20 7421 5500
E-mail: registry@icco.org or info@icco.org
International Cocoa Council and subsidiary bodies, 17-21 September 2012
The International Cocoa Council and subsidiary bodies, including the Consultative Board on the World Cocoa Economy, will meet in London, 17 – 21 September 2012. The meetings will be preceded by the first meeting of the Expert Working Group on Food Safety, Cocoa Productivity and Quality, scheduled for 14 September at the ICCO offices.
Alongside the meetings will be held the United Nations Cocoa Conference 2010 Meeting pursuant to Article 57 Paragraph 3 of the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, notification of which is available here.
Provisional Timetable of Meetings, 14-21 September 2012, London
International Cocoa Council: Draft Agenda
Executive Committee: Draft Agenda
Consultative Board on the World Cocoa Economy: Draft Agenda
Expert Working Group on Food Safety, Cocoa Productivity and Quality: Draft Agenda
Guinea accedes to the International Cocoa Agreement 2010
Guinea on 19 June 2012 acceded to the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, the United Nations Treaty Section has confirmed.
Click here to see the official notification of accession to the Agreement from the United Nations.
Togo ratifies the International Cocoa Agreement 2010
Togo on 22 June 2012 ratified the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, the United Nations Treaty Section has confirmed.
Click here to see the official notification of ratification to the Agreement from the United Nations.