This Sunday marks the kick-off of the fifth World Cocoa Conference in Brussels, Belgium, scheduled for April 21-24 and we’re very much looking forward to going. The leading event for cocoa sector sustainability brings together all the stakeholders and offers a unique networking opportunity. Indeed, it allows you to meet Agiboo’s George Bradshaw as well, who will be visiting both the conference and our clients in the global cocoa market. See you there? You can register on the website.
Cocoa – an Agiboo specialty
For us at Agiboo, cocoa – and indeed the World Cocoa Conference – is right in our sweet spot. The World Cocoa Conference (WCC) is a ground-breaking networking event created by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) and launched in 2012 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
After four successful editions held in Africa, Europe and Latin America, and following the cancellation of the fifth edition of the Conference to be held in Bali (Indonesia) due to issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the leading event for the global cocoa and chocolate sector is back – bringing together all the stakeholders of the cocoa value chain – governments, cocoa farmers, cooperatives, exporters, traders, manufacturers, brands, retailers, financial institutions, logistics companies, international aid and development agencies, academics, et cetera from across the world to exchange views and identify solutions for the sustainability of the sector.
Market volatility
As developments on the production side, climate change and the dynamics of hedging have taken hold, the international event comes at a very interesting moment of volatility in the market for cocoa. After a rather steady rise in the price of cocoa beans over the last few years, we’ve soon huge spikes in the last month – with future contracts setting new heights by more than doubling in the last quarter alone. Even if prices recede from current levels, they are likely to remain elevated for years to come. Price levels are driven by a record supply crunch heading into its third year – as the International Cocoa Organization expects production to fall short in 2024 as well. Barry Callebaut expects the gap to be as big as 10 percent of the market. With ‘Paying More for a Sustainable Cocoa’ being the main theme of the World Cocoa Conference, we expect ‘prices’ will be a huge part of the event.
You can find the full program here.
The conference aims to serve as a tool to identify the economic, social, and environmental challenges of the cocoa sector, to assess the efficiency of stakeholders’ initiatives to address these issues, and to adapt future strategies. The main theme: paying a fair price to cocoa farmers so that they can grow cocoa as sustainably as possible. Stakeholders have a unique opportunity to present the progress made in their initiatives and their novelties, while engaging in constructive discussions on a wide range of relevant topics.
Cocoa & Agiblocks
In Agiblocks, cocoa is one of four Specialized Commodities. In a previous entry, we briefly talk about the history of the product and several aspects that help explain why cocoa is such a complex commodity – before turning the spotlight on Agiblocks’ prowess to handle that complexity in ways that no other CTRM solution can.
You can find George Bradshaw and Agiboo representatives anywhere from Commodity Trading Week (both Singapore and London) to the international conferences for cotton, grains, sugar and coffee and many other key commodity conferences on the agenda. Stay tuned for our announcements as well as our post-event reports, and be sure to reach to us out if you would like to connect with George and our team, or if you want more information about our flagship software. Just as with working with Agiblocks, you can do so anytime, anywhere.
