Richard Edwards

Confectionary giant Cadbury is to treble its sourcing of cocoa from Ghana in an effort to secure its supply at a time of uncertainty for the industry. 

The new plans will see Britain’s biggest selling chocolate brand, Dairy Milk, being sold under the Fairtrade label in a move that will see the company’s margins come under pressure but reflects Cadbury’s success in slashing its costs at a time of record cocoa prices.

Cocoa is Ghana’s second biggest export after gold, and provides one of the UK’s oldest companies with almost two-thirds of its cocoa. However, a recent study by the University of Sussex and the University of Ghana found that the average cocoa farm in the country was only operating at 40% of its optimum and, with young farmers increasingly looking for employment elsewhere, facing an uncertain future.

It’s this decline that Cadbury, which is sinking £45m into sustainable cocoa farming in Ghana over the next 10 years, is keen to halt in order to secure the security of a supply chain that is fundamental to its business.

And with Fairtrade farms in the country performing far more effectively than their competitors it’s little wonder that Cadbury has moved to protect its interest.

“As 50 percent of our business is chocolate orientated, we are looking to create a good and sustainable business,” Cadbury’s CEO Todd Stitzer said. “We believe that by joining forces with the Fairtrade Foundation, we can further improve living standards and conditions for farmers and farming communities, and create a sustainable supply of high quality cocoa for Cadbury.”