By Alexandra Wexler
COPENHAGEN--Ebola hasn't been detected in the two West African
countries that produce more than half of the world's cocoa--and the
global chocolate industry wants to keep it that way.
The World Cocoa Foundation, an industry group made up of
heavyweights in the cocoa and chocolate business such as Mars,
Inc., Cargill Inc. and Mondelez International Inc., announced a
$600,000 donation to support Ebola care and prevention efforts in
West Africa at a meeting on Wednesday. The money was solicited from
members and will be divided between several organizations, the WCF
said.
Prices for the key-chocolate ingredient surged to 3 1/2-year
highs on the futures market late last month on concerns that the
deadly Ebola outbreak could spread to Ivory Coast or Ghana, which
together produce about 60% of the world's cocoa. No cases of the
virus have been reported in either country to date, but Ivory Coast
shares a border with Liberia and Guinea, two of the countries
hardest hit by the virus.
Ebola "is something that we're deeply concerned about," said
Bill Guyton, president of the WCF. "In addition to financial
resources, the industry has a network on the ground," which is
being used to spread information about the disease to farmers, Mr.
Guyton said.
Even a small number of Ebola cases in Ivory Coast could have a
sweeping impact in the cocoa market, analysts say. Cocoa is grown
on tiny plots, with growers selling their beans to middlemen who
ride from farm to farm on motorbikes gathering the crop to
transport to the coast for export. The travel restrictions and
quarantines used to contain the disease could quickly isolate
millions of farmers, choking off supplies to the world's chocolate
makers just as they're expecting an influx of beans.
The region's main cocoa-harvesting season began on Oct. 1, which
has pressured futures prices over the last few weeks. On Tuesday,
cocoa for delivery in December on ICE Futures U.S. settled at
$3,102 a ton, down 8% from the 3 1/2-year high hit on Sept. 24.
"One thing the industry can do is ensure that the industry keeps
running, " said Barry Parkin, chief sustainability officer at Mars,
maker of M&M's and Twix.
That includes reassuring consumers that eating chocolate is
safe. "Ebola is not a food-borne illness," Mr. Parkin said.
Mars is still operating as normal in West African cocoa-growing
countries, Mr. Parkin said.
"The best way to help West African cocoa farmers and their
communities is to continue to buy the cocoa that they grow," Mr.
Guyton said.
Write to Alexandra Wexler at alexandra.wexler@wsj.com
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