Brussels, 14/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 14 March, the European Parliament gave its approval to the conclusion of a new international agreement on cocoa, concluded in 2010 in the framework of UNCTAD to reinforce cooperation between the producer and consumer countries, to step up cooperation with the private sector and civil society and guarantee better transparency of the markets, fairer prices and more sustainable production.
The International Cocoa Agreement, the principal agreement on base products between the exporters and importers of cocoa, aims to make global trade in cocoa fairer and more sustainable. The final version supported by the EP calls on the parties to gather, analyse and distribute statistics and to carry out adequate studies. Although it aims to reinforce social and environmental responsibility, the new agreement does not, however, explicitly tackle the problem of child labour.
In addition to the approval given to the new International Cocoa Agreement through its adoption of the report by Vital Moreira (S&D, Portugal), the Parliament has also adopted a resolution calling for measures against the use of child labour in this sector. Cocoa growing is a highly labour-intensive activity: 90% of all of the world's cocoa is grown by 5.5 million small farmers, and 14 million rural workers, including children, are directly dependent on its production. Although the resolution acknowledges the fact that producers are subjected to intense pressure to keep labour costs at a minimum level, it calls on all parties in the cocoa value chain - farmers and producers of cocoa, governments, traders, producers and consumers of chocolate - to take on their responsibilities in fighting forced labour and the trafficking of children in the sector. The Parliament therefore recommends that a global framework be set in place to ensure fair and sustainable trade. It also calls on the Commission to look into draft legislation to fight cocoa-based products from child labour and encourage the signatory countries of the UNCTAD agreement (14 exporter countries and 29 important countries plus the EU, representing 60% of global cocoa consumption and more than 80% of global production) to act to guarantee traceability for the whole length of the supply chain.
The Parliament's approval of the new UNCTAD agreement and its call for action against child labour in the growing of cocoa were immediately welcomed by the four European cocoa and chocolate industry associations - Caobisco, Fédération du commerce de chocolat (FCC), European Cocoa Association (ECA) and World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). (EH/transl.fl)