(Agence Ecofin) – The rag is burning between the American confectionery company Hershey and the Café-Cacao Council (CCC). The regulator accuses him of wanting to avoid paying the decent income differential (DRD) by turning to the cocoa futures contract instead of buying directly in the field.
The recent reliance on US confectionery giant Hershey on the New York Stock Exchange’s International Exchange Futures (ICE) cocoa reserves for its supply threatens the Decent Income Differential (DRD) scheme. This is what the Ivorian Coffee-Cocoa Council (CCC) believes in a letter reported by Reuters.
According to reports, the confectioner bought contracts for 30,000 tonnes of cocoa beans last week for delivery on 15 December. According to the CCC, this company approach, which contrasts with the usual direct physical purchase process, is a maneuver to avoid paying the premium of $ 400 per tonne applied from the 2020/2021 campaign.
While the measure was welcomed at its announcement by the whole chocolate industry, buyers are now reluctant to put it into practice with the slowdown in demand for chocolate products linked to the economic consequences of the coronavirus.
« We think he it is a conspiracy to defeat the DRD and not to guarantee remunerative prices for all cocoa producers in our countries[Côte d’Ivoire et Ghana, Ndlr]», Said Yves Koné, number one of the CCC.
For his part, Hershey prefers to play appeasement and denies wanting to compromise the implementation of the DRD.
« It is important to consider that there was already at the ICE, trade in cocoa beans from producing countries long before the implementation of the DRD. The majority of the cocoa products we buy will continue to come from West Africa and the purchases will take into account the DRD for the 2020/2021 season and beyond.», Indicates the company in a press release relayed by Reuters.
As a reminder, less than a week ago, Cocobod also denounced the weakness of the companies’ commitment to pay the DRD despite their proactive speeches.
Espoir Olodo
Read also:
11/21/2020 – Ghana: Joseph Aidoo denounces a deliberate attempt by certain companies to derail the DRD
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