Cocoa and chocolate production is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s a driving force behind some of the world’s most powerful food companies, including Nestlé, Mars, and the Ferrero Group.
These massive brands have made chocolate an everyday item that most of us take for granted, but the very existence of the chocolate industry is nothing short of remarkable when you consider its origin.
Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, the fruit of cacao trees. These trees can only grow in very specific conditions; they need hot temperatures, high humidity, and lots of water. This type of tropical climate is only found within a narrow stretch of the planet, around the equator.
The taste of cocoa varies by country, but you’re unlikely to experience that variety because it mostly comes from the same place. While you can get some cocoa from Central America or South Asia, it’s West Africa that dominates the industry.
The world’s leading cocoa-producing country by far is Côte d’Ivoire (frequently anglicized as the Ivory Coast).
According to Statista, Côte d’Ivoire produced 2.2 million tons of cocoa beans in 2022, nearly three times as much as the world’s second-largest producer — neighboring Ghana — which put out 750,000 tons.
Over a quarter of Côte d’Ivoire’s population relies on cocoa for a living, but they reap just a tiny fraction of the chocolate industry’s colossal profits.
Now, a growing movement is fighting for farmers’ rights, and it could drastically change the cocoa industry.
Côte d’Ivoire runs on cocoa
It’s impossible to overstate how important cocoa is to the people of Côte d’Ivoire.
In an interview with The Guardian, N’Zi Kanga Rémi — who governs the Adzopé Department just north of the nation’s largest city, Abidjan— explained that virtually every aspect of life in Côte d’Ivoire is dependent on a robust cocoa industry.
“My education was funded by cocoa! Our houses are built with cocoa! The foundations of our roads, our schools, our hospitals is cocoa! Our government runs on cocoa! All our policy focuses on sustaining cocoa!” he declared.
Farmers in Côte d’Ivoire grow and harvest raw cocoa beans, but they’re largely excluded from the chocolate production process. Although cocoa is the defining ingredient in chocolate, some giant brands often undercut its value.
The actual cocoa percentage of chocolate can vary significantly, and manufacturers may use minimal amounts to stretch their supply for the most products (and profit). Ultimately, it’s the companies that sell the finished product that reap the real rewards.
Most of the cocoa produced in Côte d’Ivoire gets exported to Europe, where the largest producers are located. Few people in Côte d’Ivoire even get to eat the fruit of their labor.
The average citizen eats only about a pound of chocolate per year, while the Swiss, who are the world’s leading chocolate consumers, eat about 22 pounds annually (via World Population Review). The average American eats 10 pounds per year
