Record prices, continued poverty: Cocoa sector remains ripe for change

"Since the last Cocoa Barometer was released, the cocoa sector has gone through some of its most turbulent times, ever," says Antonie Fountain of the VOICE Network in the opening of the report. "In the middle of a global context that can sometimes feel like the winter of despair, the current state of cocoa should show that we are also in a spring of hope."

Why high cocoa prices don't make for better farmer incomes

As of this writing, cocoa prices and the price of chocolate in supermarkets are at record highs, yet most farmers remain mired in poverty. A mix of crop failures, climate shocks, and unfair contracts prevent most farmers from benefiting.

Farmer poverty remains at the root of nearly every problem in cocoa, from deforestation to child labor and gender inequality. Price volatility remains one of the biggest challenges in the sector, in particular for farmers. According to the Small Farmer Atlas, 78% of cocoa farmers interviewed indicated that they would be unable to cover household expenses if cocoa prices dropped by 25% in a season.

Paying farmers fairly is both a moral imperative, and under new human rights and environmental due diligence laws, a legal requirement. Yet political backlash in Europe threatens hard-won progress.

Simultaneously, the high market prices are fueling a cocoa production boom. Cocoa-driven deforestation is moving into new regions in Latin America and Central Africa, threatening biodiversity hotspots. Within a few years, this boom could lead to oversupply and a price collapse, echoing the devastating crash of 2016. As has been seen before, volatility is the biggest challenge to sustainability.

Alongside that, cocoa-growing communities remain under the tightening grip of climate change, deforestation, and human rights abuses. Over 1.5 million children are engaged in hazardous cocoa labor in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Women, who do most of the farm work, are still excluded from decision-making and profits.

Change is possible

Even for all of these challenges, unprecedented regulatory steps and stronger collaboration show that systemic change is possible. The challenges facing the cocoa sector cannot be confronted individually. Each environmental, social and economic challenge is bound up in another. The 2025 Cocoa Barometer shows that change is possible, even in today's turbulent context, but collaboration across the sector is essential.

A Call to action

The Cocoa Barometer calls for urgent action from the entire sector, including:

• Fair pay: Commit to living incomes for farmers
• Protect forests: Enforce a global moratorium on cocoa-driven deforestation
• Recognize farmers, women and men, as equals: in decision making
• Transparency: implement transparency and accountability mechanisms across supply chains.

About the Cocoa Barometer

The Cocoa Barometer is a state of sustainability overview of the sector, and highlights current challenges and progress. It also offers a long-term overview of major developments over past decades, while sketching potential future developments and emerging risks. This seminal reference work is the go to publication for understanding sustainability in the cocoa sector.

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