COPAL COCOA Info
Cocoa Producers' Alliance
In-House Cocoa Newsletter
A Weekly Newsletter of Cocoa Producers' Alliance
Issue No. 477
30th January – 3rd February 2012
UP-COMING EVENTS
o Midway workshop on Swollen-shoot,Yamoussoukro, Cote
o
d’Ivoire, 21st – 24th February, 2012.
Meeting of the International Organizing Committee for the
17th International Cocoa Research Conference, Yaounde,
Cameroon, 24th April to 3rd May 2012.
IN THIS ISSUE

ICCO INSIDE
DAILY COCOA
THISPRICES
ISSE:

LONDON (LIFFE) FUTURES MARKET
UPDATE

NEW YORK (ICE) FUTURES MARKET
UPDATE

FROM THE NEWS MEDIA

TIT BITS
Do your health a favour, drink Cocoa everyday
‘It’s nature’s miracle food’
In the News (from Newspapers worldwide)

Health and Nutrition
 Cocoa Prevents Colon Cancer
 Cocoa powder, husk prevent malaria
Labour Issues

Production and Quality
 Hershey Company to invest million to improve
conditions in Cocoa Communities
 New Hershey program to benefit cocoa farmers
 Cocoa use to exceed supply by 94,000 tons, Marex
Spectron Says
 ICCO pegs rise in global cocoa stocks
The Market
 Cameroon targets unlicensed cocoa buyers with
seizure of beans
 Cameroon Cocoa Farmgate price advances 1.5% in
Week
Processing & Manufacturing

Environmental Issue

Research & Development
 Tulane grad invents toothpaste from cocoa
Promotion & Consumption
 Condoms and Cocoa raises for AIDS
 Cote d'Ivoire: Country and Ghana to Streamline
Cocoa Production and Marketing
Others
 Cameroon Cocoa caterpillar attacks drop after
Rains, Pesticides
Business & Economy

ICCO Daily Cocoa Prices
ICCO Daily Price
(SDR/tonne)
ICCO Daily price
($US/tonne)
London futures
(£/tonne)
New York futures
($US/tonne)
30th January
1506.34
2330.95
1503.67
2307.00
31st January
1514.22
2348.67
1511.00
2321.00
1st February
1473.39
2283.01
1459.33
2256.33
2nd February
1472.14
2282.23
1464.67
2252.33
3rd February
1524.61
2364.61
1517.67
2338.67
1498.00
2322.00
1491.00
2295.00
Average
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
2
International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE)
London Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities
(£ per tone)
Monday
30th January
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Tuesday
Opening Trans
1526
1542
1559
1558
1572
1580
1585
1580
1652
31st January
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Wednesday
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Opening Trans
1495
1508
1523
1533
1540
1559
1575
1577
1592
1st February
Opening Trans
1509
1523
1537
1550
1548
1556
1565
1567
1577
1593
2012
Settle
1489
1504
1518
1528
1534
1542
1549
1559
1569
1589
1538
Change
-74
-71
-69
-71
-73
-75
-76
-74
-68
-66
Daily
High
1532
1544S
1559
1566
1572S
1583S
1585S
Daily
Low
1486
1501
1515S
1525S
1530S
1542S
1559
1580S
1652
1579S
1590S
Daily
High
1518S
1531S
1545
1550S
1559S
1567S
Daily
Low
1484
1498
1512S
1523S
1528S
1553S
1575S
1577S
1592S
1575S
1577S
1592S
High
1521
1528
1542S
1550S
1548S
1557S
1565S
1567
1577S
1593
Low
1442
1459S
1473S
1484S
1493S
1504S
1515S
1522S
1559S
1593
Volume
6,643
3,899
1,865
1,034
1,292
174
38
0
26
23
14,994
2012
Settle
1497
1511
1525
1536
1544
1553
1559
1554
1564
1580
1844
Change
8
7
7
8
10
11
10
-5
-5
-9
Volume
6,635
3,200
1,978
617
1,684
45
0
3
11
12
14,185
2012
Settle
1443
1460
1475
1486
1495
1506
1514
1520
1528
1544
1503
Change
-54
-51
-50
-50
-49
-47
-45
-34
-36
-36
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
Volume
10,039
5,427
2,731
1,217
1,674
1,029
246
275
87
10
22,735
3
Thursday
2nd February
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Friday
Opening Trans
1447
1465
1480
1490
1496
1506
1518
1520
1528
3rd February
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Opening Trans
1456
1472
1484
1494
1500
1506
1517
1525
1533
1545
Average for the week
2012
Settle
1449
1465
1480
1491
1497
1502
1507
1513
1522
1540
1497
Change
6
5
5
5
2
-4
-7
-7
-6
-4
High
1466
1483S
1499S
1508S
1514S
1525
1518
1521S
1529S
Low
1442
1460
1475S
1485S
1491
1500
1518
1520S
1528S
Volume
4,734
2,989
2,197
604
783
636
75
55
55
0
12,128
Change
53
53
53
52
52
56
58
60
56
56
High
1525S
1539
1553S
1560S
1567S
1561S
1541S
1525
1564S
1545S
Low
1438
1456S
1473S
1484S
1490S
1500S
1510S
1518S
1526S
1545S
Volume
6,877
2,533
2,156
737
461
960
420
87
303
75
14,609
2012
Settle
1502
1518
1533
1543
1549
1558
1565
1573
1578
1596
1552
1552
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
2656
2656
4
New York Board of Trade
(New York Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities)
(US$ per tone)
Monday
30th January
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Tuesday
Open
2359
2421
2400
2414
2422
2460
2440
2451
2465
2465
31st January
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Wednesday
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Open
2280
2320
2344
2372
2392
2440
2443
2454
0
2476
1st February
Open
2291
2338
2360
2379
2406
2390
2390
2407
2425
2445
2012
Price
2280
2310
2336
2355
2372
2390
2408
2420
2436
2465
2377
Change
-126
-121
-121
-119
-120
-121
-117
-112
-104
-96
High
2359
2421
2407
2416
2434
2460
2440
2451
2465
2465
Low
2274
2304
2334
2370
2370
2385
2433
2449
2436
2465
Volume
13,840
5,993
1,042
702
135
306
9
48
95
26
22196
Change
11
14
14
14
15
16
17
20
19
15
High
2340
2369
2395
2410
2410
2440
2447
2454
0
2476
Low
2277
2310
2337
2357
2374
2401
2440
2454
0
2476
Volume
13,021
6,400
1,362
349
567
279
214
14
37
32
22275
Change
-66
-65
-66
-65
-63
-60
-61
-61
-61
-65
High
2328
2356
2373
2391
2406
2390
2390
2407
2425
2445
Low
2220
2255
2280
2301
2318
2337
2364
2383
2399
2445
Volume
16,458
7,663
3,057
1,520
1,367
1,024
71
24
29
21
31234
2012
Price
2291
2324
2350
2369
2387
2406
2425
2440
2455
2480
2393
2012
Price
2225
2259
2284
2304
2324
2346
2364
2379
2394
2415
2329
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
5
Thursday
2nd February
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Friday
Open
2234
2266
2288
2305
2329
2340
0
0
0
0
3rd February
Month
Mar 2012
May 2012
Jul 2012
Sep 2012
Dec 2012
Mar 2013
May 2013
Jul 2013
Sep 2013
Dec 2013
Average/Totals
Average for the week
Open
2235
2267
2297
2307
2331
2361
2349
2362
2374
0
2012
Price
2225
2255
2282
2301
2321
2347
2363
2378
2393
2410
2328
Change
0
-4
-2
-3
-3
1
-1
-1
-1
-5
High
2255
2287
2309
2309
2331
2353
0
0
0
0
Low
2210
2245
2274
2290
2313
2333
0
0
0
0
Volume
19,258
13,512
3,231
1,138
1,331
965
59
0
0
0
39494
Change
75
72
71
71
75
78
77
74
69
69
High
2339
2363
2385
2408
2431
2460
2350
2408
2487
0
Low
2213
2238
2268
2288
2310
2335
2349
2362
2374
0
Volume
22,638
15,059
3,862
662
1,169
1,529
60
17
245
24
45265
2012
Price
2300
2327
2353
2372
2396
2425
2440
2452
2462
2479
2401
2401
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
8230
8230
6
News
NEWS
Health and Nutrition
Cocoa Prevents Colon Cancer
Newsmax Health
January 30, 2012
Not only is chocolate a sweet treat for the stomach, new research suggests that cocoa
can help protect against intestinal diseases like colon cancer.
In what they claim is the first study of its kind in relation to intestinal pathologies, a
research team out of Spain has concluded that cocoa can act as a defense system for
the body by interrupting the cell-signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, a
process which results in the formation of tumors.
Their study also found that a cocoa-rich diet can help increase a natural process
known as apoptosis or cell death, in which the body eliminates old, unhealthy cells, to
make way for new ones — a "chemoprevention mechanism" that helps ward off
cancer advancement.
For eight weeks, researchers fed rats a cocoa-rich diet — 12 percent — and then
induced the effects of cancer.
Results showed that the rats that consumed a diet high in cocoa had significantly
reduced aberrant crypts, a common manifestation of colon cancer. Crypts are tube-like
glands found in the lining of the colon and rectum and, when functioning normally, renew the lining of the
intestine and produce mucus.
Scientists also noted an improvement in the rats' antioxidant defenses and a decrease in oxidative damage
induced by the carcinogens.
According to the World Health Organization, colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide,
and is the fourth most common cancer after lung, stomach, and liver.
Cocoa, a major ingredient of chocolate, is rich in flavonoids and antioxidant properties.
A study published last year in the British Medical Journal also found that high levels of chocolate consumption
could be associated with a reduced risk of developing heart disease by up to 37 percent.
The Spanish study was published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research and announced January
24.
Cocoa powder, husk prevent malaria
Nigerian Tribune
|By Sade Oguntola Thursday,
02 February 2012
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
7
Cocoa seed and husk powder can protect against malaria. It is so
successful both in treating and preventing malaria that scientists
believe some of its constituents may one day be formulated into
malaria drugs for general use.
Researcher in a study that tested extracts from husks of four varieties
of cocoa husks (the outer part of the bean which usually goes to
waste in chocolate production) found that its hexane extract was
toxic on blood forms of plasmodium falciparum, the human malaria
parasite.
The new study entitled “Evaluation of the antiplasmodial and cytotoxicity potential of husk fiber extracts from
Cocos nucifera, a medicinal plant used in Nigeria to treat human malaria” was carried out by a group of
researchers, including the Nigerian born Dr J.O. Adebayo.
The extracts were tested for their ability to kill malaria parasite (antiplasmodial activities), toxicity to body cells
(cytotoxicities) and whether it causes the breakdown of red blood cells, according to the study published in
January issue of the journal, Human Experimental Toxicology.
Nigeria is an African country where transmission of malaria occurs all year round and where most inhabitants
use plants as remedies against parasitic diseases, including malaria. In the middle belt of the country, medicinal
plants used for the treatment of malaria includes decoction of cocoa husk and cocoa seed powder.
Cacao seeds are the source of commercial cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter. Fermented seeds are often
roasted, cracked and ground to give a powdery mass from which fat is expressed. Raw dried cacao beans may
also be cold-milled and ground to powder. This is the cocoa from which a popular beverage is prepared. In the
preparation of chocolate, this mass is mixed with sugar, flavouring, and extra cocoa fat. Milk chocolate
incorporates milk as well but reduces anti-oxidant properties.
What is more, researchers have also corroborated the age long practice of using cocoa powder both in the
prevention and treatment of malaria. The 2011 study, published in the African Journal of Biochemistry
Research, found that natural cocoa powder had both therapeutic and prophylactic effects against P. berghei,
another specie of malaria germ.
The study entitled “Anti-malarial activity of cocoa powder in mice” was carried out by Jayeola, C. O.;
Olubamiwa, O; and Effedua, H at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria in collaboration with Oluwadun, and
Kale, O.E, both from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State.
The researchers used natural cocoa powder to compound mice feed and this was both pre-fed and post-fed to
mouse that had been infected with Plasmodium berghei. Experimental mice were randomly put in six groups
randomly containing five animals each, according to their weight and sex. Each group comprises of both male
and female mice.
For the detection of malaria infection, blood smears were prepared from all experimental mice before the start of
experiment. The percentages of malaria parasite in the blood were taken every other day as well as their weight
checked to determine the percentage change in parasite density.
The results of the experiment on plasmodium infection on mice and the effect of cocoa powder ingestion as
compared with chloroquine treatment indicated that both agents exhibited a reduction in malaria parasite load
almost at equal frequency, irrespective of the gender of the mice.
The insignificant difference in the percentage plasmodial reduction between mice pre-fed with cocoa and those
post-fed with cocoa, they stated was an indication that both method of anti-malarial treatment are equally
effective.
They wrote: “the observation of higher percentage of plasmodial reduction in mice pre-fed with cocoa suggested
it may possess an immune-booster effect which action is anti-malarial.”
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
8
Conversely, the findings of the study corroborated a previous one which indicated that cocoa powder could be
used as adjunct to already available anti-malarial drugs to delay the spread of resistance in P. falciparum.
Considering the finding that regular consumption of cocoa can help to reduce the occurrence of malaria attack,
they suggested that extensive research work was required to ascertain cocoa’s anti-malarial agents and their
possible, precise mechanism of action as well as its immune boosting effect.
They recommend that cocoa consumption should be promoted in areas where malaria is endemic. According to
them, since cocoa powder is a food drink, it could reduce incessant cases of drug-resistance and as well prevent
the devastating effect of malaria on human.
Numerous anecdotal reports of reduced episodic malaria in people who daily drink natural unsweetened cocoa
beverage had prompted a search for scientific mechanisms that possibly account for cocoa’s antimalarial effects.
Many studies suggested five mechanisms that possibly underpin cocoa’s anecdotal antimalarial effects. It is
purported among others reasons to increase availability of antioxidants in plasma(blood); boost immunity of the
body; increase blood levels of nitric oxide as well as reduce red blood cell fragility.
Meanwhile, previous studies carried out by researchers at Osaka University in Japan had found that parts of the
cocoa bean, the main ingredient of chocolate, thwart mouth bacteria and tooth decay.
They discovered that the cocoa bean husk has an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth and can fight effectively
against plaque and other damaging agents.
According to them, the antibacterial agents in cocoa beans could offset the high sugar levels that bacteria in the
mouth turn to acids, which eat away at the tooth’s surface and cause cavities.
They tested their theory on rats by adding an extract of cocoa bean husk to their drinking water. Another group
was infected with streptococcus mutans bacteria, which contributes to plaque and tooth decay. They were also
fed a high-sugar diet.
After three months, the study found that the rates with the high sugar diet had 14 cavities on average compared
to just six cavities for those who received cocoa bean husk in their diet.
Given that the finding would lead to new treatments for tooth decay, if the result could be translated into
humans, they stated that it was possible that in the future cocoa bean husks extract be included in mouthwashes
or as supplement to toothpaste.
Cocoa contains flavanol which has potential beneficial effects on human health such as antiviral, anti-allergic,
anti-platelet, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and anti-oxidant activities.
Numerous studies have reported a relationship between the consumption of cocoa derivatives especially dark
chocolate with beneficial health effects on cardiovascular diseases such as heart problems and stroke as a result
of its antioxidant content.
Production & Quality
Hershey Company to invest million to improve conditions in Cocoa Communities
Modern Ghana
By: Kyei-Afrifa Mannhei
Jan. 30, 2012
Accra, , GNA - The Hershey Company on Monday said it would expand and accelerate programmes to improve
conditions in cocoa communities by investing million in West Africa and continue to work with experts in
agriculture, community development and government to achieve progress with cocoa farmers and their families.
Over the next five years, Hershey's public and private partnerships will directly benefit 750,000 African cocoa
farmers and over two million people in cocoa communities across the region, the company said in a statement
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
9
issued in Accra on Monday “Today, West African farmers can increase their cocoa output by 50 per cent
through modern methods. Doing so will increase school attendance and improve community health,” it said in
the statement.
Hershey has worked with farmers and development organisations for more than 50 years. Most cocoa farmers
live on small, isolated family farms. They are eager to improve their farming methods and Hershey Company is
investing in major programmes to make them better farmers.
The announcement builds on the company's cocoa expertise and partnerships and would focus on increasing the
income of the Region's two million cocoa farmers and ensuring long-term cocoa sustainability for the Region
and for Hershey's global product line.
“Hershey is extending our commitment with new programmes to drive long-term change in cocoa villages
where families will benefit from our investments in education, health and economic opportunities,” said J.P.
Bilbrey, President and CEO, Hershey Company.
“Our global consumers want Hershey Company to be a leader in responsible business practices and in finding
smart ways to benefit cocoa communities. We are excited and humbled by this opportunity to create positive
change in West Africa.”
Later this year, US consumers will be able to purchase Hershey's Bliss® products with 100 per cent cocoa from
Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.
Rainforest Alliance Certified farms have met comprehensive sustainability standards that protect the
environment and ensure the safety and well-being of workers, their families and communities.
While working with farmers to improve long-standing agricultural practices, Hershey and the Rainforest
Alliance will also help them prepare for the future.
Rainforest Alliance will use training programmes to reduce child labour and increase school attendance, these
programmes will be coordinated with industry and government initiatives.
“We support Hershey's comprehensive approach to sustainability, through educating cocoa farmers on best
practices and improving conditions for cocoa farming communities in West Africa,” said Tensie Whelan,
President of Rainforest Alliance. “We are thrilled to be working with Hershey to bring their sustainability
commitments to life, from cocoa farms in West Africa to store shelves across North America.”
In 2011, Hershey introduced an innovative mobile phone programme in Ghana, known as CocoaLink, to reach
thousands of farmers with practical messages about growing cocoa and family health.
Currently, more than two-thirds of cocoa farmers in Ghana are using low-cost mobile phones in their
households. CocoaLink is a first of its kind partnership programme developed with World Cocoa Foundation
(WCF) and Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
Based on the success of the company's CocoaLink mobile phone project in Ghana, Hershey said it was planning
to expand the network into La Cote d'Ivoire.
Through CocoaLink, cocoa farmers receive text and voice messages that enable them to improve farming
practices, understand issues related to pests and adverse weather conditions, improve labour practices and ask
questions from cocoa experts in real time.
In the next phase of CocoaLink, Hershey plans to work with the Rainforest Alliance to incorporate important
messages about conservation and climate change into the programme.
Through CocoaLink, Hershey and its partners are committed to reaching 100,000 Ghana cocoa farmers by 2014.
La Cote d'Ivoire has approximately 600,000 cocoa farmers and industry data indicates that about half are
already using mobile phones.
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
10
ICCO pegs rise in global cocoa stocks
Business Recorder (blog)
January 31, 2012
Business Recorder Logo World cocoa stocks rose to 1.723 million tonnes as of September 30 after bumper
crops in West Africa helped produce a record surplus, according to the International Cocoa Organisation's
annual assessment.
Stocks were up by 295,000 tonnes on the year, with the majority held in importing countries, ICCO statistician
Laurent Pipitone told Reuters.
Stocks in importing countries totalled 1.235 million tonnes as of September 30, compared with 1.03 million
tonnes a year earlier.
Stocks held in cocoa-producing countries also rose, with the ICCO estimating 408,000 tonnes stored at origin
versus 323,000 tonnes a year earlier. "There has been a trend for the share of stocks in producing countries to
rise because of the growth in their grinding capacity," Pipitone said.
Grinding capacity has been increasing in producers including top grower Ivory Coast and third-largest
Indonesia.
The assessment also showed total European port warehouse stocks had risen to 913,000 tonnes from 756,000
tonnes a year earlier.
However, Liffe-certified stocks held in warehouses fell to 172,770 tonnes, from 336,000 tonnes a year earlier.
"The share of Liffe stocks has declined to around 20 percent; it used to be 40 to 50 percent", of the total stocks
held in European warehouses, Pipitone said.
In November the ICCO estimated a record global cocoa surplus of 341,000 tonnes for the 2010/11 crop.
This is below industry estimates of a surplus of up to 500,000 tonnes, but ICCO numbers are consistently
conservative in comparison with private-sector estimates.
The ICCO is due to publish its first estimates for 2011/12 supply and demand in February.
Although the ICCO world stock assessment is an industry benchmark, it does not report on all countries, with
Indonesia and Nigeria being two of the producers that are not included.
New Hershey program to benefit cocoa farmers
York Daily Record
By TIM MEKEEL, Business Editor
02/03/2012
The Hershey Co. said Monday that it will spend $10 million over five years in West Africa to improve the
productivity and living conditions of cocoa farmers.
The initiative is expected to directly benefit 750,000 cocoa farmers and two million people overall in cocoagrowing communities of Ghana and Ivory Coast.
J.P. Bilbrey, Hershey's president and chief executive officer, said the new program will "drive long-term change
in cocoa villages."
Hershey said it will show cocoa farmers modern methods that can boost output by 50 percent, increasing their
family income significantly. One way Hershey will educate farmers is by expanding its "CocoaLink" mobilephone effort.
CocoaLink transmits text and voice messages to farmers about agricultural and family-health issues, and
provides experts to answer farmers' questions.
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
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In a second effort to educate farmers, Hershey will launch "Learn to Grow," a network of 25 community-based
farmer organizations in Ghana."Learn to Grow" also will provide high-yield seedlings, financing and GPS
mapping to precisely calculate how much fertilizer and pesticide to apply.
Partnering in this program is Source Trust, a nonprofit that promotes ways to get better crop yields through
sustainable agriculture.
In a related move, Hershey said that later this year its Hershey's Bliss product line will be made entirely from
cocoa beans grown on farms that are certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
To be certified, the farms will have to show that they use sustainable agricultural practices and ban unsafe or
illegal child labor, according to Hershey.
Cocoa use to exceed supply by 94,000 tons, Marex Spectron Says
Bloomberg
By Isis Almeida
Feb 3, 2012
Cocoa demand will exceed supplies by 94,000 metric tons in the 2011-12 season started in October, reversing a
previous forecast for a surplus of 32,000 tons, Marex Spectron Group said.
Global cocoa production will be 3.867 million tons, 70,000 tons lower than forecast in November, with smaller
crops in West Africa, the London-based broker said in a report e-mailed today. Ivory Coast and Ghana are the
biggest growers of cocoa, and they produce a larger so-called main crop and a smaller so-called mid crop. The
mid-crop starts in April in both countries.
“Weather conditions during December and early January in Ivory Coast and Ghana were far more typical of a
normal dry season and significantly less benign than the same period of last season, indicating that the midcrops will be close to trend and much lower than last year,” Jonathan Parkman, the head of agriculture at Marex
in London, wrote in the report.
The crop in Ivory Coast will be 1.335 million tons, down from 1.38 million tons previously forecast and 1.7
million tons in 2010-11, Marex said. Production in Ghana will be 845,000 tons, up from a previous estimate of
825,000 tons, Marex said. Ghana’s crop was 955,000 tons a year earlier, the broker said.
Global bean grindings, an indication of demand, will rise 3.3 percent to 3.922 million tons from the previous
season, the brokerage said. The new estimate is up from 3.866 million tons forecast in November.
Forward Sales
The so-called forward sales program started in Ivory Coast as part of wider industry reforms will have a
“profound” effect on the cocoa market, with prices set to fall, Marex said.
The Ivorian government said in November it planned to sell 70 percent of the 2012-13 harvest before the
season’s start as part of industry reforms that include a price guarantee to farmers that is 50 percent to 60
percent of international market prices. The program started Jan. 31. “The trade will have to manage very
carefully the increase in quantity of forward hedges that they will incur as a result of forward marketing by
Ivory Coast,” Parkman wrote.
The Market
Cameroon targets unlicensed cocoa buyers with seizure of beans
Bloomberg
By Pius Lukong
Jan 31, 2012
Cameroon’s cocoa agencies have started a joint effort to eradicate unlicensed buyers and end purchases of lowquality beans sold by farmers who need money quickly, according to the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional
Council.
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
12
The council and the Cocoa and Coffee Board started the program Jan. 20 to find the buyers and seize the beans
they’ve purchased, Yves Abissi, head of communications for the council, said in an e-mailed response to
questions today from the port city of Douala. Officials are monitoring parts of the Center, South and South West
regions where the chocolate ingredient is grown, he said.
Cameroon, Africa’s fourth-biggest producer of the crop, requires cocoa buyers to get a license from the council
before making purchases, proving they have financial means and storage and transportation facilities. There are
92 buyers with permits and more than 250 without, said Abissi.
Unlicensed buyers purchase cocoa that “is not well dried,” said Benjamin Ndongo Ndjemba, head of the board
in the Center, East and South regions, in an interview. “As the number of illegal buyers keeps increasing, it
becomes difficult to get credible statistics on cocoa production in Cameroon.” So far, 120 kilograms (264
pounds) of beans have been seized, he said.
Cocoa farmers who need money will try to sell the beans before they are properly dried, said Sama Aloysius, an
unauthorized buyer, in a phone interview. “When the farmer is in dire need of money to buy his kerosene, rice
or cooking oil, he looks for us, sometimes with cocoa as small as five kilograms,” he said.
Cameroon Cocoa Farmgate price advances 1.5% in Week
Bloomberg
By Pius Lukong
Feb 1, 2012
Cameroon’s average national farmgate cocoa price rose 1.5 percent to 959 CFA francs ($1.92) per kilogram (2.2
pounds) in the week to Jan. 30, the Cameroon National Association of Cocoa and Coffee Producers said in a
mobile-phone text message today.
The following is a table of regional farmgate rates, with prices per kilogram in CFA francs.
Southwest
-Kumba 970
-Mamfe 950
South
935
Center
970
Littoral 970
Average 959
Processing & Manufacturing
Business & Economy
Labour Issues
Environmental Issue
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P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
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13
Research & Development
Tulane grad invents toothpaste from cocoa
The Hullabaloo Online
February 3, 2012
As CEO of New Orleans-based Theodent, Tulane alumnus Arman
Sadeghpour, right, debuts an innovative chocolate-based
toothpaste with his mentor Tetsuo Nakamoto of the LSU School
of Dentistry.
Toothpaste
Tulane grad invents toothpaste from cocoa Nadeen Saqer The
Tulane Hullabaloo | 0 comments
New Orleans company called Theodent launched its namesake product, a new toothpaste, Jan. 2. The toothpaste
was developed by Doctor Tetsuo Nakamoto, who did his doctoral thesis at Tulane University.
Unlike most toothpastes, Theodent contains Rennou, a natural substitute to fluoride that is derived from cocoa
extract.
Doctor Tetsuo Nakamoto, professor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and co-founder of
Theodent, originally discovered the extract while studying the effects of caffeine on pre-natal teeth in the 1980s.
Doctor Arman Sadeghpour, co-founder, CEO and President of Theodent, researched the effects of the extract
with Nakamoto discovered that Rennou strengthens enamel while working on his thesis.
They acquired three different patents for the product and launched its release through the Bioinnovation Center
in New Orleans.
Sadeghpour said that the toothpaste can be found in Whole Foods and on the Theodent website, theodent.com.
Theodent is a groundbreaking innovation in the dental field. "There has been no innovation in toothpaste for
over 100 years," Sadeghpour said. "Rennou is the patented alternative to toothpaste."
The founders wanted to keep the company and technology in New Orleans to allow for further innovation,
especially after Hurricane Katrina.
"It's encouraging that Tulane has brought about these types of research opportunities," freshman Eric Fagan
said. "I'm planning on doing research, so it's great."
This toothpaste uses all natural products instead of fluoride. "I think this is a very important movement in the
right direction," freshman Mariana Altman said.
Promotion & Consumption
Condoms and Cocoa raises for AIDS
Yale Daily News
By Michelle Hackman
February 1, 2012
Thanks to a fundraiser, Yalies can send each other condoms this week for a good cause.
The undergraduate community service group behind AIDS Walk New Haven has launched a fundraiser this
week, “Condoms and Cocoa Grams,” to raise money for its April 15 event. Students can purchase a “gram” gift
bag with a condom and a packet of hot cocoa mix for $3 during dinner hours on Monday to Wednesday in
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
14
residential college dining halls and during lunch on Thursday in the Commons rotunda. The effort represents
one of the group’s many sources of funding for its annual walk in April which donates its funds to nine nonprofit organizations, including Planned Parenthood and the AIDS Interfaith Network.
“Even though the issue is one of global significance, the work we’re doing directly affects the greater New
Haven area,” said Leah Campbell ’15, the publicity coordinator of AIDS Walk New Haven. “We’re raising
awareness for an international problem, but with a focus on the people affected by it much closer to home which
helps make the problem much more immediate and personal.”
The organization set up in three dining halls Monday and Tuesday night, and plans to solicit in five dining halls
on Wednesday night, coordinators said. Other than a few samples created to show to customers, the group has
not created any of its cocoa grams yet. It will do so in its Thursday night meeting, said Adam Ford ’13, one of
the group’s co-coordinators, and then distribute the cocoa grams on Friday and Saturday. Ford said that he
expects the fundraiser will raise approximately $350 which will go toward preparing for the walk.
Ford said the idea originated last year when the group planned a “condoms and candy canes” fundraiser for the
holidays that was never ultimately carried out. “We were expecting snow and cold around the end of January, so
hot cocoa seemed appropriate,” Ford said.
Isaac Wasserman ’14 said he bought one because he felt it was a creative way to support something that
mattered to him. “I ended up asking that a condom and cocoa gram be sent to my twin brother,” he said. “More
as a joke, but also because I don’t feel like becoming an uncle yet.”
The primary focus of the organization is to host an annual 5K walk through New Haven in which both
undergraduates and other city residents participate. Each year, the organization raises about $20,000 to put on
the walk, Ford said. The funding comes from on-campus events such as the cocoa grams and partly through
deals with local restaurants and businesses, said Sheila Enamandram ’13, one of the co-coordinators of AIDS
Walk New Haven in 2011.
The group also works extensively with the network of organizations in the Mayor’s Task Force on AIDS.
Enamandram said that last year’s event raised more money than any other in its history, with a total of $24,000
raised by the end of the summer. The unprecedented success may have been partially due to appearances by
Sen. Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73 (D-Conn.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-R.I.), who headlined the
event. Campbell said that the organization intends to advertise its event more heavily to undergraduates this
year.
“In the past, we’ve been able to connect well with the New Haven community and there has always been a great
turnout of locals,” Campbell said. “But we have never gotten as many Yale students as some other events like
Relay for Life.”
The organization will hold its other major pre-walk fundraiser, the Red Hot Fashion Show, in conjunction with
undergraduate art and fashion group Y-Couture in February.
Cote d'Ivoire: Country and Ghana to Streamline Cocoa Production and Marketing
AllAfrica.com
1 February 2012
A report on the state broadcaster RTI-TV said that Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana have formed a joint technical
committee to streamline cocoa production and marketing in both countries. According to the report, this
committee was formed during a meeting between Ivorian Minister of Agriculture Mamadou Sangafowa
Coulibaly and Ghanaian officials. The committee is expected to regulate price differentials and prevent cocoa
smuggling across the border to maximize benefit for cocoa farmers, the report said. The report also quoted a
Ghanaian official as saying that the decision for the formation of the technical committee to man cocoa
operations in both countries was discussed by President John Evans Atta Mills and his Ivorian counterpart,
Alassane Ouattara.
This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American
Embassy in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The opinions expressed in these reviews in no way reflect the views of the
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
15
United States Government and are presented for informational purposes only. The accuracy of reports contained
in this summary has not been confirmed by the Embassy.
Others
Cameroon Cocoa caterpillar attacks drop after Rains, Pesticides
Bloomberg
By Pius Lukong
Jan 30, 2012
Heavy rains this weekend in Cameroon’s main cocoa production area drove away caterpillars that have been
attacking the crop during the past three weeks, the Ministry of Agriculture said.
The caterpillars had fallen on cocoa leaves in the southwest region and “consumed them with an aggressive
appetite,” Nkeangnyi Laurence, a ministry delegate for Manyu said by phone today, in Mamfe, about 550
kilometers (342 miles) outside of Yaounde, the capital. “This is certainly going to affect production this season,”
Laurence said.
Plants take a year to recuperate, James Mosima, vice president of the Cameroon National Association of Cocoa
and Coffee Producers, said in a phone interview from his cocoa farm in Konye. “We are happy the attack has
subsided,” he said, adding pesticides had also helped.
Mosima and Laurence said several hectares of cocoa had been destroyed by the caterpillar attacks and declined
to give a more specific estimate.
About 240,000 metric tons of cocoa was produced in the Central African nation in 2010-11, with the southwest
region contributing 60 percent.
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE,
P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684
Email: econs@copal-cpa.org
Website: www.copal-cpa.org
16