The cocoa conundrum

Summary

Business Daily: The Cocoa Conundrum

BBC World Service | Host: Hannah Bewley | Date: November 26, 2025

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Overview

This episode of Business Daily dives into the intricate challenges facing the global cocoa industry as it grapples with spiking prices, new European Union deforestation regulations (EUDR), and persistent concerns over sustainability, farmer welfare, and environmental protection. Host Hannah Bewley speaks with key players across the cocoa supply chain — from boutique chocolate makers and major traders to African farmer representatives and global chocolate brands — to unravel whether the world can have chocolate that’s both affordable and sustainable.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Chocolate’s Global Landscape and Roots of the Crisis

• Europe’s Chocolate Obsession
  • Europe now consumes half of the world’s chocolate, despite cocoa’s South American origins. (02:28)
• Inequity and Environmental Damage
  • Issues like child labor, exploitation, and environmental harm have long plagued the cocoa supply chain. (02:28)
• The Price Issue
  • "This crisis has been years in the making. [...] the consumer got used to too cheap chocolate."
    —Martin Braun, ex-Cargill cocoa head (01:28, reiterated at 09:08)

2. EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): Motivation & Implementation

• What is EUDR?
  • Aimed at eliminating the use of deforestation-linked raw materials in products sold in the EU, requiring proof no trees have been cut where cocoa is grown in the past 6 years. Also affects palm oil, soy, timber, rubber, cattle, coffee. (03:00, 13:00)
• Compliance Challenges
  • Even small, craft chocolate makers face hurdles documenting every cocoa bean’s source.
    —“Despite the fact that you are, in global terms a tiny business, you still have to comply with the EU regulations on deforestation.” (03:55)
  • Mapping plantations — surprisingly technical for smallholders without smartphones or reliable infrastructure. (04:44, 06:46)
  • Quote: "Some of the farmers don't even have a cell phone. So how do you start mapping your plantation?"
    —Albert Smith, small cocoa business owner (04:44 & again at 06:46)

3. Perspectives from the Global Supply Chain

A. Small Chocolate Makers (Albert Smith, Amsterdam)

• Traceability as an Advantage
  • Already source from small, transparent co-ops. New regulations are feasible but “come with some challenges.” (04:38)
• Price Perspective
  • "The higher price for cocoa is just a tiny part of the chocolate bar, so why not pay a little bit more? I think prices at war with where we are now is a more sustainable price level for the whole supply chain." (07:24, 07:44)

B. Industry and Traders’ View (Martin Braun)

• Timing is Problematic
  • “It’s the worst possible time because we have had deficits… in an environment of high inflation and record high cocoa prices. [...] it’s not a great timing to add additional cost.” (09:08)
• Skepticism of Policy Makers
  • Regulations designed by policymakers “who haven’t visited the origins and who do not properly know or understand how the industry works.” (10:02)
  • Quote: “The EUDR is made in my mind with a noble purpose, but made from the context and perspective of bureaucrats who sit in a nicely carpeted air conditioned office and who have never really done the work.” (10:13)
• Who Pays?
  • "Everyone in the supply chain wants to protect their margin. These costs, they will end up in a combination of the final consumer and the weakest link of all. That’s the producer, the poor farmer." (12:32)

C. Voices from Cocoa Farmers (Omrid Adiola Adegoke, West Africa)

• Infrastructure & Determination
  • Acknowledges heavy infrastructural gaps but sees the need for environmentally friendly, “infrastructure-free cocoa” as non-negotiable. (15:11)
• Connection with Consumers
  • “It brings the consumers closer to the producers. [...] It makes the consumer aware of the unmotorable, unserviceable roads, the reliable roads, the lack of potable waters and the living conditions of the families of cocoa farmers. [...] It creates a transparent system.” (15:52)
  • Hopes improved transparency will draw investment to farming communities. (16:20)

D. Consumer Attitudes (Dutch Shoppers)

• Willingness to Pay More?
  • Mixed responses: Some prioritize taste and price, others express willingness to pay more if farmers and the environment benefit. (Interview montage, 17:30–18:48)
  • Notable comment: “If it’s like a €10 one, then I wouldn’t, I would rather go for like the €2 one or something.” (17:23)
  • “The normal chocolates are way too cheap. You can even buy it for €1.50. I mean that is ridiculous. [...] The money will go to the local people to give them a better life. Also to tackle deforestation.” (17:44)
• Skepticism:
  • One shopper: “I want them to be producers most efficiently as possible. [...] The cost is completely irrelevant. [...] But I like chocolate a lot, so I buy the chocolate, but when I buy it in the supermarket, I buy the more expensive chocolate. So I hope that's the best one for the climate and for the cacao farmers.” (18:23–18:48)

E. Global Chocolate Giants (Ferrero’s Francesco Tramontin)

• Backing Regulation
  • “The European deforestation regulations and the due diligence provisions are the ones that we feel can make a meaningful impact and therefore we've been really supporting their adoptions.” (19:55)
  • Opposes efforts to delay or weaken the EUDR. (20:00)
• Cost of Compliance
  • “The total can cost in excess of the 10 of millions. [...] But it is manageable.” (20:29)
  • Argues administrative cost is less crucial than the raw material itself:
    “The cost of cocoa and the level of the cost of cocoa, it's much bigger than udr.” (21:45)
• Obligation, Not a Consumer Choice
  • “Consumers shouldn't be having to choose on sustainability negatives. So I think eliminating certain issues like deforestation should be part of the cost of doing business.” (21:45)
• On Farmer Investment
  • “There needs to be more investments in farmers. [...] I think it's the concerted approach that really will make the difference. That's why legislation is the key.” (22:35)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This crisis has been years in the making. One of the things was that the consumer got used to too cheap chocolate.”
  —Martin Braun (01:28, 09:08)
• “Some of the farmers don't even have a cell phone. So how do you start mapping your plantation?”
  —Albert Smith (04:44, 06:46)
• “Sustainability needs to be profitable. Otherwise it's not sustainable.”
  —Martin Braun (11:51)
• “It brings the consumers closer to the producers. It makes the consumer aware of... the living conditions of the families of cocoa farmers.”
  —Omrid Adiola Adegoke (15:52)
• “Consumers shouldn't be having to choose on sustainability negatives. [...] Eliminating certain issues like deforestation should be part of the cost of doing business.”
  —Francesco Tramontin, Ferrero (21:45)
• “Everyone in the supply chain wants to protect their margin. These costs, they will end up in a combination of the final consumer and the weakest link of all. That’s the producer, the poor farmer.”
  —Martin Braun (12:32)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 01:10 — Introduction: The chocolate crisis
• 01:28, 09:08 — Martin Braun on roots of crisis: cheap chocolate and timing of regulation
• 03:38–08:13 — Matthew Kenyon & Albert Smith: Small chocolate makers and traceability
• 09:08–12:32 — Martin Braun: The trader’s perspective, who bears the cost
• 14:40–16:36 — Omrid Adiola Adegoke: Farmers’ challenges and opportunities
• 17:30–18:48 — Dutch shoppers: Willingness to pay for sustainability
• 19:55–22:35 — Francesco Tramontin (Ferrero): Why big chocolate backs EUDR and how costs stack up

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Summary & Flow

This episode artfully explores the push-and-pull between ethical sourcing and economic pressures gripping the cocoa industry. New EU regulations challenge producers at every level, from rural African farmers lacking basic infrastructure to multinational corporations facing multimillion-euro compliance costs. Small manufacturers like Albert Smith argue for paying more at plantation level, while traders fear policy overreach will pinch supply and ultimately impact the weakest: the farmers themselves. Ferrero’s global affairs chief defends legislation as essential, arguing the bigger threat to prices is cocoa’s fundamental scarcity, worsened by climate change.

Conversations with European chocolate buyers reveal a split: principle-driven consumers willing to pay more versus those prioritizing price or efficiency. Throughout, the voices of African farmers underscore both the day-to-day realities — poor roads, water shortages — and the hope that greater transparency will eventually bring prosperity.

The verdict? The cocoa conundrum is deep and complex, with no easy answers — but perhaps, as the episode’s recurring theme suggests, it’s time for consumers, companies, and regulators alike to pay the true cost of chocolate.

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For listeners seeking to understand the future of chocolate — as both a treat and a commodity at the center of global economic, environmental, and ethical challenges — this episode is a must-listen.

Transcript

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[Hannah Bewley]

Hello, I'm Hannah Bewley and this is Business Daily on the BBC World Service. For many, a piece of chocolate or two is the ultimate indulgence. But it's been a challenging few years for the industry.

[Martin Braun]

This crisis has been years in the making. And one of the things was that the consumer got used to too cheap chocolate.

[Hannah Bewley]

And now, in the world's biggest market for the sweet treat Europe, new rules on sustainability could add more pressure to the supply chain.

[Albert Smith]

I know in some of our producer networks that some of the farmers don't even have a cell phone. So how do you start mapping your plantation?

[Hannah Bewley]

But for some, the ideal behind these rules to reduce deforestation could bring much needed changes to the industry.

[Omrid Adiola Adegoke]

It made the consumer aware of serviceable roads, the lack of potable waters, and the living conditions of the families of cocoa farmers.

[Hannah Bewley]

Coco's conundrum Is there such a thing as an affordable and sustainable chocolate bar? That's all coming up on today's Business Daily. Can I have a hot chocolate, please?

[Matthew Kenyon]

Sure.

[Francesco Tramontin]

With dairy milk?

[Hannah Bewley]

Yes. Thank you. Europeans love their chocolate. Although the beans originated in South America, the Europeans really ran with it. The continent now accounts for half of the consumption of the world's chocolate. And after arguably centuries of inequality in the supply chain and accusations of child labor, export exploitation and environmental harm, in recent decades there's been a real drive to make the way cocoa is sourced more sustainable. The latest effort from the European Union is aimed at eliminating raw materials linked to deforestation in any product sold in the block. It's Known simply as eudr, European Union Deforestation Regulation. Now, cocoa is just one of the products covered by these rules, but we'll focus on that for this program to see how it might impact each stage of the process to make your favorite bars and products. The search for a more ethical bar or cup of cocoa has already led to a rise in so called craft or bean to bar chocolate companies. So reporter Matthew Kenyon went to visit one which has always aimed to ensure their products are sourced fairly and sustainably.

[Matthew Kenyon]

Welcome to what's been called the largest cocoa cluster in the world, Amsterdam in the Netherlands. And I'm in the middle of the huge harbour complex in this city where each year something like 20 to 25% of all the traded cocoa in the world is handled. And of course the majority of that, hundreds of thousands of tons from the Caribbean, Central America, West Africa and elsewhere, is either traded on or processed in multiple different ways and exported by the huge multinationals that have based themselves here. But there are also much smaller businesses and with Albert Smith, who runs one of those right by the harbour. Your warehouse is just over there, Albert. The harbour where the boats arrive with your containers of cocoa is just behind us. Your business is called crafting markets. Despite the fact that you are, in global terms a tiny business, you still have to comply with the EU regulations on deforestation.

[Albert Smith]

You know, our advantage is that we have all the information on farm level already because the producers that we work with are small plantations that either work through a co op or social enterprise. And all of our cocoa is already traced back to the plantation. But, you know, we still have to work with the new rules and that comes with obviously some challenges.

[Matthew Kenyon]

Well, it's a blustery, rather damp day in here in Amsterdam. We're just behind one of the factories where your products are ultimately turned into chocolate. Shall we go inside and take a look?

[Albert Smith]

Yes, yes, please follow me.

[Matthew Kenyon]

Well, we've come inside the factory and the air is thick with the smell of cocoa. There's lots of cocoa beans around, huge great boxes full of beans and ultimately, I guess the chocolate products that the chocolate makers make here.

[Albert Smith]

Yeah. So in our niche market, this factory is actually one of the bigger ones in Europe. They operate with about 10 different origins, where each and every bean has its own flavor, roasting profile, etc.

[Matthew Kenyon]

As you say, you work with tiny producers on a global scale and yet you have to or they ultimately have to comply with the regulations, particularly about deforestation. For a Chinese farmer in Cote d' Ivoire or in Guatemala or Haiti or Wherever. How hard is that going to be and how hard is it for you to make sure that that happens?

[Albert Smith]

We rely on our producers. And as much as all the producers have taken care of, ready of traceability, trying to map their plantations very well, it's sometimes still a black box for them, how to comply and to what kind of benchmark their mapping is going to be measured against.

[Matthew Kenyon]

And Albert, you talk about mapping, what does that mean in practice for the farmers on the ground?

[Albert Smith]

Mapping means that farmers have to actually provide the, the geolocations of their plantation. And you know, for some farmers that are very remote, that comes also with a challenge. I know in some of our producer networks that some of the farmers don't even have a cell phone. So how do you start mapping your plantation?

[Matthew Kenyon]

The price of the raw cocoa beans has gone up dramatically in the last few years. Can you see these new regulations having any impact on that wider supply chain and the wider structure of the industry?

[Albert Smith]

Well, you know, we have been pushing for better prices since we started, so it's good to finally see, you know, some rewards at plantation level as well. The higher price for cocoa is just a tiny part of the chocolate bar, so why not pay a little bit more? I think prices at war with where we are now is a more sustainable price level for the whole supply chain.

[Matthew Kenyon]

Now, obviously one can't come to cocoa importers and a chocolate factory without trying the chocolate. Albert, what am I about to taste?

[Albert Smith]

Yeah, so this is a chocolate bar made from beans from the Dominican Republic with some extra sugar, coffee nibs and crispy cocoa nibs.

[Matthew Kenyon]

Okay, now that is fantastic.

[Hannah Bewley]

The EU Parliament is due to vote soon on when the deforestation regulations come into force. As things stand, the rules will be implemented at the end of this year for larger companies and the middle of next year for small and micro businesses. But some interested parties are pushing for a further delay to the end of next year, while others are keen for the rules to kick in as they've already been delayed. From the end of 2024, EUDR govern where a product originated. And importers to Europe will have to show that no trees where a particular item was grown have been cut down in the last six years. Cocoa comes under the regulations, but so does palm oil, coffee, timber, cattle, rubber and soy. Martin Braun is also based in Amsterdam. He's former global head of cocoa trading for Cargill, one of the biggest trading companies in the world, and now works as a consultant in the sector. He said this is a difficult time for regulations to be imposed.

[Martin Braun]

It's the worst possible time because we have had deficits. So a shortage of fresh supply versus demand for three years in a row. This may be the first year that there is a small surplus and in an environment of high inflation and record high cocoa prices. And yeah, it's not a great timing to add additional cost. One of the things that I realized when I left the industry in 23, I realized, okay, this crisis has been years in the making. So the things that I've seen in more than 15 years trading cocoa, they have led to this situation. And one of the things was that the consumer got used to too cheap chocolate. When you have a chocolate bar less than €1 on the shelf, I think the consumer needs to realize that's not sustainable.

[Hannah Bewley]

Will the EUDR proposals and rules make this process run more or less smoothly for traders now?

[Martin Braun]

Obviously less smoothly. The market functions well if it can move freely, especially when those regulations are implemented by policymakers who haven't done the work that I've done over the years and who haven't visited the origins and who do not properly know or understand how the industry works. The EUDR is made in my mind with a noble purpose, but made from the context and perspective of bureaucrats who sit in a nicely carpeted air conditioned office and who have never really done the work and have no idea how complex supply chains.

[Hannah Bewley]

Those regulators though would say that these rules are about protecting the environment. So what's the alternative? Should we just let the deforestation continue?

[Martin Braun]

Is this the right tool? The focus is a lot on companies and governments, but at the end of the day, it's the final consumer who chooses with their wallet. Everything we consume determines our emissions, if you will. So it's US consumers who are going to drive that. The market will decide. And so what it means for Europe is that the cost of importing these commodities, palm, soya, cocoa, coffee, rubber, cattle and timber will become more expensive.

[Hannah Bewley]

Do the big companies not have a responsibility to use their market power for the better, to improve the conditions for farmers, say, and the environmental protections? They must have a lot more clout in the market than one consumer in Europe or America does.

[Martin Braun]

I always hear that argument, but in practice I haven't experienced that. You know, I've worked in one of the biggest and powerful companies in the world. It was extremely difficult to steer certain governments of sovereign nations in a direction that we felt was more logical. But these companies, they do have a responsibility to produce and sell products that are sustainable and responsibly made. But at the end of the day, the company needs to make a profit. Sustainability needs to be profitable, otherwise it's not sustainable.

[Hannah Bewley]

So who is it that's going to end up paying for the additional costs to implement all of this?

[Martin Braun]

Everyone in the supply chain wants to protect their margin. These costs, they will end up in a combination of the final consumer and the weakest link of all. That's the producer, the poor farmer, Martin Brom.

[Hannah Bewley]

You're listening to Business Daily from the BBC World Service.

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[Hannah Bewley]

I'm Hannah Bewley and today we're talking chocolate. Where it comes from and whether it can be sustainable. Those in the first mile of the supply chain, as it's referred to, think these rules could present an opportunity.

[Omrid Adiola Adegoke]

My name is Omrid Adiola Adegoke. I am the National President of Cocoa Farmers association of Nigeria and also the global President of Cocoa Farmers alliance association of Africa.

[Hannah Bewley]

Roughly 70% of the world's cocoa is grown in West Africa, with the Ivory coast and Ghana dominating. Mr. Adegoke has been talking to farmers all over the continent about how they'll be able to prove no trees have been cut down on their farms in the past six years.

[Omrid Adiola Adegoke]

The Koku communities are numerous, especially with the challenges of infrastructural gaps. This has also affect this, but nevertheless the cost, the determinations, our belief that our environment and our ecosystems must be protected and they need to continue to produce infrastructure free cocoa is non negotiable. So this is exactly what we are trying to push every day.

[Hannah Bewley]

Could having to do this work bring secondary benefits? Could it bring other benefits for the farmers and the communities that rely on the cocoa trade?

[Omrid Adiola Adegoke]

Yes, definitely, because it brings the consumers closer to the producers. It makes the consumer aware of the unmotorable, unserviceable roads, the reliable roads, the lack of potable waters and the living conditions of the families of cocoa farmers. So it upbridge the gaps. It brings closer that now it creates a transparent system. It comes with cost, but nevertheless it brings the consumers, the buyers closer to the producers. So therefore it's a matter of time. Investment will start to trickle in without hindrance.

[Hannah Bewley]

The new European Union rules are intended to reduce deforestation. It's estimated that in the last 20 years, 2.4 million hectares of forest was replaced by cocoa plantations in Ivory coast alone. That represents 45% of total deforestation in the country. So it's something most people agree needs to be addressed. That's because there's huge demand for chocolate products. Europe imported almost 2 million tons of beans two years ago. So what do the people who eat it think? Reporter Matthew Kenyon asked shoppers in the chocolate loving Netherlands whether they care if a chocolate bar is sustainable or not. I look at which chocolate I like and if the prices cheaper.

[Aramco Advertiser]

So it's just more of what tastes the best.

[Hannah Bewley]

But if it's like a €10 one, then I wouldn't, I would rather go for like the €2 one or something.

[Matthew Kenyon]

There are new regulations coming in about deforestation in particular. And would you be prepared to pay more?

[Hannah Bewley]

Absolutely I would do that because I think the normal chocolates are way too cheap. You can even buy it for €1 50. I mean that is ridiculous. Ridiculously cheap. Definitely we will pay, we have to pay more because the money will go to the local people to give them a better life. Also to tackle deforestation.

[Matthew Kenyon]

Do you look at the, where the beans, the cocoa beans originally come from, whether they're sustainable and that kind of thing? For me personally, absolutely not out of principle, because I want them to be producers most of the efficiently, most efficiently as possible. So the cost is important to you much less than what they. No, no. The cost is completely irrelevant. Okay, but on principle, I want production to be as efficient as possible. Otherwise it's a waste of everybody's time. So what do you think also of the price of chocolate? You buy chocolate in the supermarket? Yes, I buy chocolate in the supermarket and I think it's rather expensive. But I like chocolate a lot, so I buy the chocolate, but when I buy it in the supermarket, I buy.

[Hannah Bewley]

The more expensive chocolate.

[Matthew Kenyon]

So I hope that's the best one for the climate and for the cacao farmers.

[Hannah Bewley]

It's been a volatile few years for cocoa supply and prices. You might have heard about companies no longer being allowed to describe describe their product as chocolate. As the cocoa content has declined so much over the past four years, prices have quadrupled, but have now eased from a peak at the end of last year. The International Cocoa Organization has reported that a fall in global production has resulted in a supply deficit of almost half a million metric tons. That's the largest in 60 years. Climate change and volatile weather patterns have been blamed for the disruption to supply supply. And as we heard from Martin earlier, some think the new rules will lead to further uncertainty. There's a divide among the world's biggest chocolate companies on whether the EUDR rules should be implemented or not. Some have pushed for a delay or for the rules to be changed, while others are embracing it. Francesco Tramontin is the lead for global public affairs for Ferraro, the third largest chocolate company in the world.

[Francesco Tramontin]

The European deforestation regulations and the due diligence provisions are the ones that we feel can make a meaningful impact and therefore we've been really supporting their adoptions. As a consequence, we are skeptical of all the efforts to either delay or dilute some of its provision, as we've seen recently with the udr.

[Hannah Bewley]

Does the company have an estimate for how much it's going to cost you in total to comply with this?

[Francesco Tramontin]

The total can cost in excess of the 10 of millions. Part of it is integrated on the way of doing business. So kind of the way you source your raw materials and that's way beyond the tens of millions in the case of global companies. On the system within the companies is few millions, maybe up to the 10. We'll see. Depends of how how implementation will go. We still don't know a lot. So we still. I do find sometimes the excuses of the impact on economy being a bit weak. There's a cost of managing something, but it is manageable. And for those who don't do their due diligence the way they should, frankly, they should do it quickly. So I'm being a bit straightforward.

[Hannah Bewley]

That cost does have to come from somewhere. The raw material cost of cocoa itself has gone up hugely in the last few years. Four years at a time when in particular food prices are under pressure. But everything is, you know, the cost of shipping, the cost of the whole supply chain. Is this something that can be put onto the consumer? Do you think people might be willing to pay more for a chocolate bar where, you know, where the cocoa bean has come from?

[Francesco Tramontin]

Not for udr. I mean, first of all, first of all, let me say consumers shouldn't be having to choose on sustainability negatives. So I think eliminating certain issues like deforestation should be part of the cost of doing business, which is why we are supporting this. The cost of administration. They are big, but they are not as big as impacting final pricing of our products. That's not what affects it. The cost of cocoa and the level of the cost of cocoa, it's much bigger than udr.

[Hannah Bewley]

Do you think Ferrero is doing enough for a company that had, I think, was it last year, turnover of $22 billion? Is enough of that going to the farmers? Could there not be more investment?

[Francesco Tramontin]

I think it's. I think there needs to be more investments in farmers. Although as big as we are will be very. Not really impactful if we'll just kind of create a little shiny sustainability program and kind of just put money into it. I think it's the concerted approach that really will make the difference. That's why legislation is the key, as.

[Hannah Bewley]

Supplies are so finely balanced. Next time you're picking out a bar in the supermarket or ordering hot chocolate, maybe you'll think of the Coco conundrum. That's all from Business Daily for Today from the BBC World Service. This programme was produced and presented by me, Hannah Bewley. Thanks for listening.

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