At its 12th general meeting in Berlin, the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa elected a new board with representatives from the various member groups.

In addition to politicians and civil society, Aldo Cristiano (Ferrero) and Dr Torben Erbrath from the BDSI sit on the committee as representatives of the German cocoa, chocolate and confectionery industry; Florian Schütze from the Schwarz Group and Christian Mieles (BVLH) represent the food trade.

The German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa will continue to work together with its partners to promote sustainability in the cocoa sector and improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers worldwide, according to the press release. This year's meeting focussed on developing inclusive strategies to achieve a living income for cocoa farming households.

This is also the Forum's annual theme for 2024 and 2025. In addition to 70 members and international guests, Assata Doumbia, head of the ECAM cooperative in Côte d'Ivoire, also took part. Among other things, she called on the members to conclude long-term and direct contracts with cooperatives, to pay fair prices and to support cooperatives in the digitalisation and implementation of traceability. The participants of the meeting discussed two levers that can contribute to improving the income of cocoa farming households: income diversification and sustainable sourcing practices. The members generally identified traceability, long-term relationships and fair contracts with reasonable prices and premiums as key aspects, as well as supporting cooperatives with digitalisation.