In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo and even the Philippines, traders of a new kind are collaborating with chocolate makers to find exceptional beans and set up responsible sectors that pay for planting machines better. Zoom, on Easter Monday, in the 5% of the cocoa market that accommodates the major manufacturers.
This is called a niche market. But it supports thousands of planting machines around the world, and under conditions much better than those imposed by world prices on cocoa farmers. On average, “beans are bought 25% but often 50 or sometimes 100% more expensive for growers”, trusts Katrien Delaet, importer and founder of the company Silvacacao, based in Antwerp.
The price is therefore not the price on the international market. “It is determined by the producer, to help him grow advanced beans which will then sell for much more than ordinary cocoa,” explains the young Belgian agronomist who defines himself as a “cocoa source”.
Where a traditional trader buys an origin to supply an industrial butter manufacturer, who transforms the beans and sells a semi-finished product, these fine cocoa importers buy the beans directly from the growers or small cooperatives and follow the whole chain to the end. craft chocolate. For maximum traceability.
The production of fine cocoa exceeds the demand
While a trader sells between 50,000 and 300,000 tons per year, an importer of exceptional beans thinks in a 12-ton container and brews volumes a hundred times less, whether for Philippines origin last year, or for CongoIturi produced this year, Silva cocoa started even with a single container.
The potential for production in what can be called “cocoa haute couture” is now greater than the demand. “But with the ‘bean to bar’ fashion: from bean to bar, chocolate makers could change the game,” said Sylvie Guillaume, a member of the Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat. In France, there are just over thirty to choose raw material and the trend is only expected to increase; it is already much more developed in Switzerland and Germany.
Local sectors, far from known traces of cocoa trees
If world production is known today and listed, iconoclastic etotypical initiatives regularly arise, either in Tahiti yesterday or tomorrow in Togo. The task of those who serve as scouts to identify these new origins is often far from the large cocoa-dividing areas that have already been identified.
“For example, on the Ivory Coast,” explains a craftsman who is a member of the Club des Chocolatiers Engagés, “we are aware that we must not disturb local economic circles too much. Many intermediaries live in the sector and also support their families. respected. “
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