U.S. Cocoa Imports: Secretive mega-traders get the lion’s share

Analysis of 2020 vessel tracking and manifest data reveals that a small number of mega-traders dominate U.S. cocoa imports through opaque networks and 'cocoa-laundering' via third countries. The report highlights how 43% of cocoa from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire passes through Europe and significant volumes from Peru and Ecuador funnel through Panama and Colombia, diverting revenue from producers. It identifies systemic obfuscation in import data, including the use of multiple company name variations by traders like Barry Callebaut to hide market dominance, and calls for U.S. legislative action to restrict imported deforestation and improve traceability.

• A significant portion of cocoa from West Africa is routed through Europe before reaching the U.S., which diverts potential revenue from farmers to foreign traders. Specifically, 43 percent of cocoa beans from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are re-exported through Spain and Belgium, often without any value being added.
• Cocoa from South America is frequently funneled through Panama and Colombia into the U.S. market. The report notes that Panama lacks sustainable cocoa commitments, traceability goals, or transparency, while Colombia's "Cocoa, Forests and Peace Initiative" currently only covers domestically grown cocoa rather than all cocoa passing through the country.
• Major cocoa traders use deceptive nomenclature and data obfuscation to hide the scale of their monopolies. For example, the trader Barry Callebaut used 35 different versions of its name to split trade volumes across various businesses, and ECOM operates under names such as Atlantic Specialty Coffee.
• U.S. import data is characterized by widespread omissions and a lack of transparency, resulting in 40 million kilos of chocolate products entering the U.S. in 2020 that were untraceable.
• The report argues that the U.S. government should establish a multi-stakeholder platform called an "ISCO" to improve industry sustainability and implement legislation to restrict the import of commodities linked to deforestation.

APA

Jones, S. (2021). U.S. Cocoa Imports: Secretive mega-traders get the lion’s share. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/u-s-cocoa-imports-secretive-mega-traders-get-the-lions-share/

Chicago

Jones, Sydney. U.S. Cocoa Imports: Secretive mega-traders get the lion’s share. Mighty Earth, 2021. https://mightyearth.org/article/u-s-cocoa-imports-secretive-mega-traders-get-the-lions-share/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jones |first1=Sydney |title=U.S. Cocoa Imports: Secretive mega-traders get the lion’s share |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=6 July 2021 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/u-s-cocoa-imports-secretive-mega-traders-get-the-lions-share/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jones2021cocoa, author = {Jones, Sydney}, title = {{U.S. Cocoa Imports: Secretive mega-traders get the lion’s share}}, institution = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/u-s-cocoa-imports-secretive-mega-traders-get-the-lions-share/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }