What Is Cocoa Chocolate?

It’s sweet, tasty and enjoyed by millions of individuals around the world, chocolate is one of the most popular treats that people love to eat. However many people are not aware how such commodity is produced or where it comes from. They are not even aware of the consequence of harvesting a dangerous commodity like cocoa beans. The exploitative relationship between the cocoa farmers and the massive and powerful chocolate companies has heavily influenced a deregulated industry. The focus of this paper is to provide background information on the cocoa industry as well as provide a critical analysis of the economic exploitations of West African countries.

Although cocoa is enjoyed by billions of people around the world, this sweet treat was a delicacy only enjoyed by the prosperous individuals in the ancient past. The word cocoa in the Latin the language is ‘Theobroma’ which means “food of the gods”. This superior crop was something only the wealthy people can indulge in many South American countries. The first use of cocoa

About 73% of cocoa beans originate in West African countries: Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast. The two largest cocoa producers in West Africa are Ghana and Ivory Coast, producing about half of the world`s supply of cocoa beans. The majority of the trade revenue coming into such nation’s economy comes from cocoa beans. The production of cocoa is vital to the Ghana economy that the government made it as symbol in Ghanan money. Similarly cocoa beans produced in Ivory Coast is sold to the two largest chocolate manufactures in the world: Nestle and Cadbury. Such companies make it impossible for fair trade and elimination of child labour. The cocoa such companies buy from the Ivory Coast is accountable for 2-3 of the countries revenue making it difficult to have equality and fairness in the trade