Abidjan, Oct 19 - Chocolate may never be entirely guilt-free, but more and more of it is likely to come from cocoa farms with sustainable and socially responsible growing methods, according to a U.S. environmental group.
Demand for "certified" agricultural products has already swept the coffee industry, with heavyweights like Starbucks hawking conscience-light beans, and the trend now appears to be taking root in the cocoa sector.
Edouard Millard, head of the West Africa office of New York-based Rainforest Alliance, said certified cocoa output in the world's No. 1 grower Ivory Coast is on track to triple this season to some 15,000 tonnes.
"What we are seeking is a cocoa sector that can play a role in the economy of (Ivory Coast), while on the other hand in 50 years we can still have the forest," Millard told Reuters in an interview.
Chocolate bars made with those beans will bear the organization's symbol, guaranteeing that the plantation adhered to strict rules around growing and employment, and earned a premium for their efforts.
Ivory Coast's cocoa sector, dogged by under-investment following a 2002-03 civil war, has been criticized by human rights and environmental groups in recent years for engaging in child labor, for clearing sensitive forests and for using ecologically harmful pesticides.
Nearly 40 percent of the world's cocoa comes from Ivory Coast's plantations.
But demand for cocoa that can offer chocolate buyers a clear conscience for a price premium is on the rise, and growers are noticing, Millard said.
Under the Rainforest system, major wholesale purchasers agree to pay a premium for certified products and pass aong the cost to consumers. Growers get a portion of this price premium to alter the growing methods.
"Certification in cocoa, as opposed to coffee, is in its infancy such that the volumes are still very small. But there is a market that exists, and this number should grow very quickly," Millard said.
"In 2008, this past season, we reached between 4,000 and 5,000 tonnes (in Ivory Coast). We're hoping during this year's season to reach at least 15,000 tonnes," he said.
"We foresee that in Ivory Coast in three or four years we'll have about 100,000 tonnes of certified cocoa, with half of that coming through the Rainforest system," he said.
Ivory Coast leads global output of cocoa, with some 1.2 million tonnes of total output in the 2008-09 season that ended Oct. 1, and sits near other West African producers like Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.
"In five to six years, we will reach around 250,000 tonnes of certified cocoa worldwide. The market is developing and is ready to absorb this quantity," he said.
"Our role is to teach good production practices and insist on respect for the requirement not to employee children in the production of cocoa and to preserve the ecosystem," he said. "(The producers) preserve their forests through sustainable practices and they get a premium as well."