INFORMATIONS
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) is an inter-governmental organization established in 1973 under the auspices of the United Nations and operating within the framework of successive International Cocoa Agreements.
CONTACT
ICCO Secretariat
International Cocoa Organization
ICCO Building – II Plateaux – Vallon
ENA – Avenue Boga Doudou
06 BP 1166 Abidjan 06
Côte d’Ivoire
Tel: +225 27 22 51 49 50/51
Fax: +225 27 22 51 49 79
E-mail: info@icco.org
Latest news
- 5ª edición de la Conferencia Mundial del Cacao – Declaración de Bruselas 24/04/2024June 24, 2024 - 10:20 am
- 5ème édition de la Conférence mondiale du cacao – Déclaration de Bruxelles 24/04/2024June 24, 2024 - 10:20 am
- 5th edition of the World Cocoa Conference – Brussels Declaration 24/04/2024June 24, 2024 - 9:46 am
Monthly review of the cocoa market situation 2007
We are pleased to announce you that the review of the cocoa market situation for February 2007 is currently available. As from now, the ICCO Secretariat will be releasing monthly reports on cocoa price movements on international markets.
Monthly review of the cocoa market situation Jan 2007
We are pleased to announce you that the review of the cocoa market situation for January 2007 is currently available. As from now, the ICCO Secretariat will be releasing monthly reports on cocoa price movements on international markets.
Pilot project on price risk management for cocoa farmers
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Brief Description
The main activities of the project were identification and training of staff of cooperatives and banks to participate in the project; preparation and implementation of pilot operations on hedging strategies; and evaluation of the results of the pilot operations.
Project Objectives
The overall objective of the project was to develop and implement a price risk management strategy for cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire. This would reduce the exposure of smallholder cocoa farmers to price fluctuations on the international market. It would also help to develop capacity to enable farmers and their organizations to make more rational production and investment decisions, based on more realistic assumptions and price expectations.
Project Results
Training materials on price risk management were developed. Representatives of local institutions and cooperatives were trained on price risk management strategies. Sources of price risk at farm-gate were identified. Hedging instruments (POPS and Puts) mitigating these sources of risk were adequately selected. Hedging contracts were drafted and approved by all parties involved. Hedging strategies were implemented on the London and New York cocoa option markets.
Click here to download the Project Completion report (PCR)
Cocoa productivity and quality improvement: a participatory approach
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CAMEROON,
COSTA RICA,
COTE D’IVOIRE,
ECUADOR,
GHANA,
MALAYSIA,
NIGERIA,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA,
PERU,
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO,
VENEZUELA
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Brief Description
The main project activities were distribution and validation of promising planting materials on-farm through participatory approach; validation and dissemination of promising cocoa varieties through enhanced international collaboration; and exchange of information and dissemination of results.
Project Objectives
The overall objective of the project was to improve the welfare of smallholder cocoa farmers through higher and more sustainable productivity levels of good quality cocoa at lower production costs. The project aimed to contribute to this objective through the selection, distribution and use of new cocoa varieties with improved yield capacity, resistance to pests and pathogens and good quality traits.
Project Results
Approximately 2000 farms were surveyed in ten different countries and about 1,500 farm selections were established in on-station observation plots or in on-farm trial plots in eight countries. In addition, about 240 on-farm selection plots were established.
About 85 ha of variety trials established in the earlier project were evaluated and several new varieties were selected or confirmed for commercial distribution to farmers. International clone trials were established and evaluated. The average of the local clones yielded substantially more than the average of the international clones. A large germplasm enhancement programme for resistance to Phytophthora pod rot was carried out where about 70% of resistant or moderately resistant trees were obtained.
The project had significantly achieved its objectives. In particular, a number of cocoa varieties that are high yielding and pests and disease resistant have been released to cocoa farmers. In addition, a number of new and improved cocoa planting materials were being tested and validated on research fields for eventual release to farmers.
Click here to download the Project Completion Report (PCR)
Supply chain management for total quality cocoa: pilot phase
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Brief Description
The project started in November 2001 with the development and implementation of a model of a cocoa supply chain system which would meet the quality criteria of CAOBISCO (Association of Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries of the European Union). The system began at the co-operative level where the cocoa was collected from the farmers in villages designated as “project villages”. The cocoa collected from each farmer was kept separate from other cocoas and moved to the warehouse of the cooperative where it was checked for physical quality against the standards of the project. If the quality criteria were met, the cocoa would be placed into export bags, sealed and labelled. The cocoa would then be transported to the port, once again checked for quality, then shipped. This system would ensure not only full traceability to the farmer at the village level, but also full integrity of the cocoa between co-operative and shipment, through to the overseas manufacturer. To encourage farmers and co-operatives to engage in the proposed system and in recognition of the extra effort to produce project quality cocoa, chocolate manufacturers paid a Project Participation Incentive (P.P.I) to the traders for distribution among farmers and co-operatives.
Project Objectives
The main objective of the project was to produce and export cocoa that meets the total quality criteria of the cocoa industry as well as to improve the efficiency of the marketing chain in Côte d’Ivoire.
Project Results
During the pilot operations between 2003 and 2009, the project exported a total of 16,526 tonnes of cocoa that met the essential project cocoa requirements of physical quality standards and traceability. About 15,000 farmers and staff of participating cooperatives received training on best post-harvest practices. Training manuals and quality control equipment worth US$150,000 were provided to the participating cooperatives by the project. An estimated US$ 1 million in Project Participation Incentive (PPI) has been paid to the participating cooperatives and to a Social Fund for community development.
The system developed and tested, proved that it was commercially viable to produce cocoa which meets the physical quality standards of CAOBISCO, which is fully traceable and of which the integrity is maintained between cooperative and the point of export. Logistical problems, the socio-political situation in Côte d’Ivoire, availability of appropriate sacks, implementation of timely training etc., were some of the major constraints identified which made it difficult to achieve the required volumes of project cocoa during the pilot operations.
Click here to download the Project Report
Supply chain management for total quality cocoa: pilot phase
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Brief Description
The project started in November 2001 with the development and implementation of a model of a cocoa supply chain system which would meet the quality criteria of CAOBISCO (Association of Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries of the European Union). The system began at the co-operative level where the cocoa was collected from the farmers in villages designated as “project villages”. The cocoa collected from each farmer was kept separate from other cocoas and moved to the warehouse of the cooperative where it was checked for physical quality against the standards of the project. If the quality criteria were met, the cocoa would be placed into export bags, sealed and labelled. The cocoa would then be transported to the port, once again checked for quality, then shipped. This system would ensure not only full traceability to the farmer at the village level, but also full integrity of the cocoa between co-operative and shipment, through to the overseas manufacturer. To encourage farmers and co-operatives to engage in the proposed system and in recognition of the extra effort to produce project quality cocoa, chocolate manufacturers paid a Project Participation Incentive (P.P.I) to the traders for distribution among farmers and co-operatives.
Project Objectives
The main objective of the project was to produce and export cocoa that meets the total quality criteria of the cocoa industry as well as to improve the efficiency of the marketing chain in Côte d’Ivoire.
Project Results
During the pilot operations between 2003 and 2009, the project exported a total of 16,526 tonnes of cocoa that met the essential project cocoa requirements of physical quality standards and traceability. About 15,000 farmers and staff of participating cooperatives received training on best post-harvest practices. Training manuals and quality control equipment worth US$150,000 were provided to the participating cooperatives by the project. An estimated US$ 1 million in Project Participation Incentive (PPI) has been paid to the participating cooperatives and to a Social Fund for community development.
The system developed and tested, proved that it was commercially viable to produce cocoa which meets the physical quality standards of CAOBISCO, which is fully traceable and of which the integrity is maintained between cooperative and the point of export. Logistical problems, the socio-political situation in Côte d’Ivoire, availability of appropriate sacks, implementation of timely training etc., were some of the major constraints identified which made it difficult to achieve the required volumes of project cocoa during the pilot operations.
Click here to download the Project Report
Feasibility study on the generic promotion of cocoa consumption in the Russian Federation
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Brief Description
The feasibility study was conducted to establish whether and under what conditions a full-scale generic promotion campaign should be launched in the Russian Federation. The feasibility study involved consumer surveys, discussions and interviews with manufacturers, a survey of top managers of confectionery enterprise, sessions with focus groups, studies and analyses.
Project Objectives
The main objective of the project was to provide a basis for determining the feasibility, the strategy and the instruments for undertaking a generic-promotion campaign for cocoa and chocolate in the Russian Federation.
Project Results
The feasibility study concluded that there existed a sound basis for launching a full-scale generic promotion campaign in the Russian Federation. More than 70 per cent of the top managers in the confectionery industry were in favour of such a campaign and were prepared to support it.
Click here to download the Feasibility study in English
Click here to download the Feasibility study in Russian
The use of molecular biology techniques in a search for varieties resistant to Witches’ Broom disease of cocoa
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ECUADOR,
PERU
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Brief Description
The main activities of the project were construction of a genetic linkage map; identification and characterization of molecular markers associated with resistance to witches’ broom disease; identification of quality trait loci (QTL) related to agronomic traits; use of recurrent selection to obtain improved populations; backcrossing in cocoa; and germplasm evaluation.
Project Objectives
The main aim of the project was to apply molecular biology techniques in cocoa Germplasm evaluation, in particular using molecular markers at DNA level, to improve knowledge on the relationships among genotypes including studies on heterozygosity, pedigree, characterization of genes controlling the inheritance of economic traits and identification of genes controlling disease resistance. This process would lead to accelerated development and release of new cocoa planting materials which would be more uniform, more productive and more tolerant to diseases, particularly to witches’ broom
Project Results
A highly saturated map was developed for variety Sca-6 x ICS and saturated maps were constructed for varieties CAB x ICS-39 and CAB-214 x ICS-39. Molecular markers related to gene resistant to witches’ broom were identified. QTLs with important agronomic traits were identified. About 1300 cocoa trees from recurrent selection were produced and transferred to the field. Backcrossings in cocoa were conducted to advance backcross generations based on molecular and phenotypic data. Through germplasm evaluation, molecular data from 800 clones were collected using different types of markers, and the genetic diversity of the clones was assessed.
Click here to download the Project Completion Report (PCR)
Study of the chemical, physical and organoleptic parameters to establish the difference between fine and bulk cocoa
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PAPUA NEW GUINEA,
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO,
VENEZUELA
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Brief Description
The main activities carried out during project implementation were fermentation and drying trials; chemical assessment of quality parameters; preparation and chemical analysis of cocoa liquor; organoleptic assessment of sensory characteristics; and DNA profiling and spectral image analysis.
Project Objectives
The main objective of the project was to provide universally acceptable criteria to differentiate between fine/flavour and bulk cocoa, thereby improving the marketing of fine or flavour cocoa. The specific objectives of the project were to establish and disseminate physical, chemical and organoleptic parameters for the evaluation of cocoa quality in relation to genotype and environment.
Project Results
The fermentation and drying trials showed that all parameters measured (temperature, pH, shell percentage, bean index and colour), with the exception of colour of the white Criollo from Venezuela, were useful in determining the good quality of cocoa. However, these parameters could not differentiate fine or flavour from Bulk cocoa.
The results of the chemical assessment of quality parameters and analysis of cocoa liquor indicated that theobromine/caffeine ratio had the potential to differentiate between fine and bulk cocoa. The fructose/glucose ratio showed some promising potential to also differentiate between fine and bulk cocoa. Results also showed that pyrazines and other volatile compounds could be used to differentiate different fine cocoa origins.
Organoleptic assessment of sensory characteristics confirmed that in general, cocoas from different origins have distinct flavour profiles, thus eliminating market competition among them. The results of organoleptic analysis also showed the influence of the environment on the flavour profiles of the same genotype in different countries.
The results of the DNA and spectral image analysis indicated that molecular markers could be used to distinguish different cocoa genotypes. In particular, it was possible to determine if a certain batch of cocoa contains mixture of different types of cocoa.
Click here to download the Project Completion Report (PCR)
Improvement of cocoa marketing and trade in liberalizing cocoa producing countries
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COTE D’IVOIRE,
NIGERIA
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Brief Description
The main activities carried out under the project were promotion of privately-run warehousing systems; development of a cocoa marketing information system (MIS); development of a quality assurance and certification system; and development of a system of commodity trade finances.
Project Objectives
The overall objective of the project was to improve the functioning of the supply chain in cocoa-producing countries engaged in the process of liberalization of their cocoa sectors, and to ensure full participation of local operators in the physical trading of cocoa, while reducing trade and price risks.
Project Results
The project established and improved market information systems, warehousing up-country, quality assurance and quality enhancement, and a system of structured trade financing as indispensable components of a viable, efficient and transparent cocoa trade and marketing chain.
Click here to download the Project Completion Report (PCR)