Netherlands Cocoa Bean Guide

The Dutch cocoa import industry is a result of the large processing industry which is the main destination for the imported cocoa beans. This processing industry takes almost 50% of all the imported cocoa beans and processes the beans into the fractions; cocoa butter and cocoa liquor. Cocoa butter is mainly used as a base ingredient in producing chocolate bars and is mainly imported by Germany, the UK, and Switzerland from the Netherlands.

Another fraction of cocoa processing is cocoa powder, which is then a granulated form of cocoa liquor. This ingredient is mostly used as an industrial additive for any product with cocoa flavor except bars and other traditional chocolate products. The main importer of cocoa powder from the Netherlands was the USA with 46.3% of the total export value from the Netherlands in 2020.

In 2020, a total of over 905K tonnes of cocoa bean was imported into the Netherlands. Cocoa bean from Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria contributed to over 80% of total Dutch imports. 

• Forastero is the predominant cocoa variety. It is mainly cultivated in Africa, but also in Central and South America. It accounts for around 80% of global cocoa production. Generally, bulk cocoa beans come from Forastero trees. Well-known Forastero subspecies are Amelonado and Nacional.
• Criollo (original cocoa tree) is mainly grown in Central America, Northern South America, the Caribbean, and Sri Lanka. Criollo makes up around 5% of global cocoa production. The beans have a delicate and sweet flavor. Criollo is often mixed with other varieties when making chocolate, given that it is scarce and expensive. Well-known varieties are Chuao, Porcelana, and Ocumare.
• Trinitario is mainly cultivated in Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Asia. The beans are a hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero trees. This variety represents around 10-15% of global cocoa production. The beans have a floral, fruity flavor. Cameroonian cocoa beans produced from Trinitario trees are classified as bulk cocoa beans. Well-known varieties are Carenero, Rio Caribe, and Sur del Lago.

Cocoa importers in the Netherlands will ask for a range of certifications from their suppliers depending on the position of the supplier in the value chain. When exporting raw cocoa beans, standard quality principles apply such as the obligatory HACCP, but also any other GFSI related quality standard could be useful. Common voluntary standards focused on agricultural principles are GLOBAL GAP, Rainforest Alliance, and UTZ.

Besides the qualitative and agricultural certifications, there has been an increasing focus on fair labor practices within supply chains and consumers are more and more expecting full transparency. Therefore, certifications such as Fairtrade, SMETA, Procert, or SGS could support a positive position in the market. 

When importing cocoa beans, general European standards on food safety need to be met in order to be granted access to the market. To meet the high-quality standard of the Dutch market, exporters to the Netherlands will have to meet high expectations. Currently, traders mostly use a combination of evaluation methods, the cocoa bean industry quality requirements guide provides good insight into the quality evaluation methods which traders commonly use.

Although there is no current harmonized evaluation method, a workgroup is working to create an international standardized classification scheme, which can be found at Cocoa for excellence.

In the cocoa market, based on the application of its industrial products, in 2017 the global confectionery took over 43% of available cocoa beans for chocolate production. The main ingredients being used are cocoa butter and cocoa liquor, which end up in chocolate bars, bonbons, etc. Overall the market can be distinguished in three segments displayed in the figure below. As visible, not only superior taste is perceived as important, but also traceability appears to be a positive aspect for the quality perception.