The confederation of French confectionery and chocolate manufacturers embarks on sourcing raw and fresh cocoa beans

The confederation of French confectionery and chocolate manufacturers embarks on sourcing raw and fresh cocoa beans right after harvest.

Unlike other confectionery and chocolate manufacturers who buy dry beans from traders, this confederation has taken an upstream move by creating post-harvest processing centers in main producing areas. Launched in 2017, the program now counts 9 centers where fresh beans are sourced directly from farmers and processed through a strict fermentation and drying protocol to produce specialty cocoa. In 2019, 150 MT of cocoa beans were made through this process, and the goal for this 2021/2022 season is to process 3,000 MT of cocoa beans of excellent quality.

Farmers consider the centers to be another dawn in cocoa farming as the price per kilo they receive is at least 40% higher than what they receive from conventional cocoa beans.