The move comes as the European Union plans to introduce legislation that could eventually make firms responsible for human rights abuses and environmental harm in their supply chain. In the US, lawmakers proposed banning imports of cocoa produced with child laboutr. Rival Barry Callebaut AG this month started disclosing the cooperatives and buying stations from which it directly sources cocoa in three West African countries.
Cocoa giant Olam International Ltd. can now trace the supply of the majority of the beans it buys, stepping up sustainability efforts as customers and governments increasingly want to know where food comes from and whether it was ethically produced.
The world’s third-largest cocoa processor is able to track all the cocoa in its direct supply chain in nine countries back to an individual farm, community, or the first point of purchase, where a farmer or cooperative is paid, said Gerry Manley, head of Olam’s cocoa unit. That’s about 60% of the beans the Singapore-based trader purchases, or 12% of the world’s cocoa.
