Sustainable and ethically sourced cocoa is the outcome of the new EU regulations on deforestation, which, among other things, mandate that producing nations adhere to strict procedures meant to maintain the environmental ecology.

There are significant ethical and financial questions about who pays the additional costs of compliance for nations like Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Cameroun, despite the legislation’s laudable goals, some of which were already being handled.

For instance, Ghana completed the Cocoa Management System (CMS), one of the essential components of the cocoa traceability system, prior to the EU Regulations and will be prepared for a full roll-out in October of this year.