Hershey Statement on Cocoa Sustainability and Supporting the Living Income Differential

Originally published on thehersheycompany.com.

Hershey’s commitment to improving cocoa farmer livelihoods and ensuring a long-term sustainable cocoa supply is unwavering. Solving the many challenges within cocoa production, such as low incomes, poverty, child labor and environmental protection will be possible only through collaboration and cooperation across industry, governments, and civil society. We look forward to continuing to engage with the governments of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana to advance our shared goals.

We are fully participating in the LID for cocoa purchases already made from the 2020/2021 crop as we buy a substantial supply sourced from West Africa. And we will continue to participate in the LID to support cocoa farmer livelihoods going forward.

Industry sustainability programs, such as ours, are needed to positively impact cocoa-growing communities and we remain ready, willing and able to continue these important program such as child labor monitoring and remediation, farmer training, environmental protection, and childhood nutritional supplements. Our concern is that by cutting off industry sustainability programs cocoa farmers will be negatively impacted as they will no longer receive the benefits provided by our on-the-ground programs as well as the price premium for certified cocoa.

Related

Trending Now

Follow us

Most Popular

Join Our Newsletter

Get the top workplace fairness news delivered straight to your inbox