The International Trade Center (ITC), as part of its efforts to enhance industry preparedness for the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) on cocoa, held a High-Level Public-Private Dialogue on Ghana’s readiness for the requirement.
The objective of the dialogue was to discuss the EU’s directive, which comes into effect in phases starting this year.
The CSDDD requires European companies to ensure their supply chains do not contribute to environmental degradation or human rights violations.
The event, organised by the International Trade Centre (ITC) through the Netherlands Trust Fund, brought together stakeholders, including policymakers, value chain actors, industry players, civil society, and development partners, to enhance awareness and preparedness for the EU CSDDD implementation.
Standards
For Ghana’s cocoa sector, this means farmers and exporters must meet strict standards on deforestation, child labour and fair wages to continue selling to Europe, which remains Ghana’s largest cocoa market.
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is expected to have a significant impact on the Ghanaian cocoa sector, and the ITC’s support is crucial in helping producers to meet the new requirements.
Ghana
The National Coordinator for ITC, Larry Attipoe, said the workshop was to empower Ghanaian cocoa producers to meet the EU’s sustainability standards to maintain access to the European market.
“The ITC, which is part of the UN and WTO, is providing support to small and medium enterprises in Ghana to reach global, local, and regional markets.
“We are working with the cocoa sector to provide information on market requirements, training, and linking them directly to markets.
“The expected outcome of the workshop is to equip Ghanaian cocoa producers with the knowledge and skills needed to comply with the EU’s sustainability standards and access the European market,” Attipoe added.
Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Jeroen Verheul, said Ghana’s cocoa sector requires significant investment to meet international sustainability standards while remaining competitive against emerging producers.
He said the country was losing global competitiveness in cocoa production due to structural weaknesses that have not been adequately addressed over the years.
He cautioned that if current trends of declining productivity persist, Ghana could fall behind emerging cocoa producers such as Ecuador and Brazil.
“If production is going down as it is going down right now, then that means there is less export of cocoa and less foreign exchange earned by farmers and less foreign exchange earned by the economy.
“So it’s a threat to the economy if production is going down. There is an imperative for the Ghanaian economy to maintain the cocoa sector, to invest in it, to make it more productive and more competitive,” Verheul emphasised.
Executive Secretary of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI), Alex Assanvo, said his vision at the Secretariat is to transform the current cocoa sector into a prosperous and sustainable one.
He said that is in line with the common ambition to provide decent wages to cocoa producers and contribute to the protection of forests and biodiversity while being exemplary in upholding fundamental social and human rights.
“The CIGCI remains committed to advancing the cause of its members, and we firmly believe that, together with the relevant stakeholders, we can make cocoa the first truly sustainable commodity market, sustain the transformation of the cocoa economy, and make it profitable for all, especially the cocoa farmer, without whom there is no cocoa and chocolate,” Assanvo stated.
“This dialogue is critical because Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have finished some setbacks by some cocoa origin countries because of some initiatives we are pushing for our farmers.
“We are grateful to ITC for organizing this crucial dialogue in educating value chain actors on the need to meet the requirements,” he added.
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