Cocoa Standard review

Why are we reviewing the Cocoa Standard now?

We review and revise our Standards on a regular basis to make sure they’re in line with Fairtrade International’s latest strategic objectives and reflect current developments in the sector in question. It’s also important that any changes are based on the realities facing producers and traders and meet consumer expectations of Fairtrade.

The goal of this Cocoa Standard review is twofold: to improve the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa based on the implementation experience and feedback received during the last few years and to enable Fairtrade certified Small Producer Organisations to comply with the Standard in tandem with new regulatory frameworks and requirements.

So, what has happened in the sector recently?

When it comes to cocoa, there have been significant changes in the regulatory landscape and there are more to come.

In Europe, the new European Union Human Rights Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) Regulation is due to come into effect in January 2023 and this will affect Fairtrade certified Small Producer Organisations.

In West Africa, the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have introduced a Living Income Differential (LID) in the hope of making cocoa production more profitable for small farmers. The LID adds a financial premium on top of the export price of cocoa originating from both countries.

West Africa is a hugely important player in the cocoa sector.

In 2020, a total of 74 percent of Fairtrade certified cocoa sales came from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. A total of 609,047MT of Fairtrade cocoa was sold that year. Côte d'Ivoire produced 72.5 percent of the total.

How does the review process work?

Within Fairtrade International, the Standards Committee and the Standards & Pricing team (S&P) are responsible for developing and regularly reviewing the Fairtrade Standards. All final decisions are made by the multi-stakeholder Standards Committee.

It’s a bottom-up agreement process so it can take from between a few months to several years to publish a new Standard, depending on the complexity of the project.

During the research phase for this review in October and November 2020, Fairtrade interviewed key cocoa stakeholders to gather their expert input. The findings were analysed by S&P and used to fine-tune the proposals for the public consultations.

An initial consultation on a range of topics was carried out in summer 2021 and led to the first set of Standards Committee decisions.

The timeline for the subsequent consultations was summer 2022 and Autumn 2022 (ongoing).

Consultation results are published in a synopsis paper on the Fairtrade International website.

The most recent version of the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa was published July 2022. Click here for details. We hope to publish an updated version, incorporating most of the results of the first consultation process, towards the end of 2022.

The next set of decisions, including the outcomes of the second consultation, is expected to be published by summer 2023.

Who is involved in the public consultation?

Producers, traders and businesses are the main consulted groups, and many others can also take part.

  • Cocoa producers already certified under the Fairtrade Standard for Small Producer Organisations;
  • Licensees and retailers as well as traders certified under the Fairtrade Standard for Small Producer Organisations;
  • The three Fairtrade Producer Networks, National Fairtrade Organisations, Fairtrade International, FLOCERT;
  • Governmental bodies, industry bodies, NGOs, researchers and subject matter experts, etc.;
  • Sharecroppers, tenant farmers, workers and worker representatives.

Going online

For this review, we are providing stakeholders with additional online information to facilitate participation and to give an overview on the status of the review to all interested parties.

In order to ensure that the process is transparent, we will be sharing all relevant information here on this special section of the Fairtrade International website.

Phase 1

  • 1. Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD)

  • 2. Addressing Deforestation

  • 3. Traceability and Transparency

  • 4. Living Income

  • 5. Sharecropper visibility and benefits

  • 6. Trading Practices, including entry of new operators

Get involved!

So, how can you take part? Would you like to help shape the future of the next Cocoa Standard?

You’ll be able to do this by taking part in an online survey (available in English, Español, Français )

Phase two – Ongoing, open until 18th of November

  • Note

  • 1. Internal Management Systems (IMS)

  • 2. Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD)

  • 3. Deforestation Risk and First Mile Traceability

Cocoa / Cacao / Cacao / Cacau

Current Standard

This standard applies to all Fairtrade certified cocoa producers and traders and is valid from the 1 January 2023.

EN | Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa

ES | Criterio de Comercio Justo Fairtrade para Cacao

FR | Standard du Commerce Equitable Fairtrade pour le cacao

Revised Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa

5 Jul 2022

During its meeting that took place on 23 March 2022, the Fairtrade International Standards Committee decided on a revised version of the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa small-scale producer organizations (SPOs) and traders.

For more details, please see the announcement letters

EN| Cocoa Standard Announcement

ES| Anuncio del Criterio para Cacao

FR| Annonce du Standard pour le Cacao

More information on the Fairtrade Cocoa Standard review can be found here

Revised Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa

29 September, 2023

During its meetings on 23 March, 2023, the Fairtrade International Standards Committee decided on a revised version of the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa small-scale producer organizations (SPOs) and traders.

For more details, please see the announcement letters

EN| Cocoa Standard Announcement

ES| Anuncio del Criterio para Cacao

FR| Annonce du Standard pour le Cacao

7 July, 2023

During its meetings on 23 March, 2023, the Fairtrade International Standards Committee decided on a revised version of the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa small-scale producer organizations (SPOs) and traders.

For more details, please see the announcement letters

EN| Cocoa Standard Announcement

ES| Anuncio del Criterio para Cacao

FR| Annonce du Standard pour le Cacao

13 December, 2022

During its meetings on 24 March and on 29 September 2022, the Fairtrade International Standards Committee decided on a revised version of the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa small-scale producer organizations (SPOs) and traders.

For more details, please see the announcement letters

EN| Cocoa Standard Announcement

ES| Anuncio del Criterio para Cacao

FR| Annonce du Standard pour le Cacao

Updates in the Fairtrade Cocoa Standard 2024

5 Apr 2024

The Standards and Pricing Unit announces updates in the Cocoa Standard and the publication of different guidance documents.

For more information about the updates and documents, kindly refer to the announcement letter or check out the cocoa section.

EN| Cocoa Standard Announcement

ES| Anuncio del Criterio para Cacao

FR| Annonce du Standard pour le Cacao

Removal of requirement 2.1.10 Mass balance: origin matching of bean volumes from the Cocoa Standard

10 Jul 2024

Fairtrade International communicates that the New Cocoa Standard Requirement 2.1.10 “Origin matching on cocoa bean volumes” scheduled to become active for Traders on January 1, 2025, has been removed from the Standard for Cocoa.

For more information on this matter, please refer to the announcement letter below

EN | Announcement letter

Updates in the Cocoa Standard, Interpretation Notes and Guidance Documents

10 Oct 2024

The Standards and Pricing Unit announces updates in the Cocoa Standard and the publication of different guidance documents.

The standard has been updated to reflect the following Director’s decisions:
-Change in applicability from traders to payers and conveyors in req. 3.4.4. and 3.4.8
-Change in start data of applicability for section 3.1 (management systems) except for req. 3.1.1 see below on timeline for implementation.

EN| Cocoa Standard Announcement

SP| Anuncio del Criterio para Cacao

FR| Annonce du Standard pour le Cacao

Removal of requirement 2.1.10 Mass balance: origin matching of bean volumes from the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa

For more information about the updates and documents, kindly refer to the announcement letter or check out the cocoa section.

EN| Cocoa Standard Announcement

SP| Anuncio del Criterio para Cacao

FR| Annonce du Standard pour le Cacao