ARVADA, CO – August 17, 2022 – Uncommon Cacao has announced the release of its 2021 Transparency Report, scheduled for August 17, 2022. The 50-page report covers key performance indicators and highlights from the 2021 trading year, and represents the only publication from an international cacao trader that openly reveals what producers are actually paid when they sell their cacao into the Uncommon Cacao network for all to see.
Across Uncommon Cacao’s businesses, we are pioneering a new, values-driven cacao economy that pays producers more and is grounded in real partnerships that deliver improved stability and success for all.
We believe Transparent Trade — verifiable, published pricing for every transaction related to a cacao purchase along the supply chain — createsthe foundation for accountability, deeper connection, and lasting systems change in the cacao industry.
Emily Stone, CEO and Founder, Uncommon Cacao
Uncommon Cacao is disrupting the global cacao market as the first Transparent Trade cacao supply chain company. This is the company’s ninth annual Transparency Report and publishes verifiable pricing for every transaction along the supply chain related to all of the company’s cacao purchases, including information about who produced it and where. This year, the company worked with scholars at the Fine Cacao & Chocolate Institute (FCCI) to collect and verify data and to draft the final report.
In the wake of ongoing industry challenges around sustainability, persistent cacao producer poverty, and historically low cocoa prices, Uncommon Cacao offers a new ethical and commercial vision for global cacao trading. Working with over 7,000 producers across 12 countries, Uncommon Cacao supplies quality cacao to over 230 craft and premium chocolate makers globally.
Through Transparent Trade, improved quality, long-term partnerships, and higher prices paid to producers, Uncommon Cacao seeks to:
- Create accountability for all stakeholders along the supply chain around pricing and margins.
- Shift the power dynamic of a traditional supply chain hierarchy of cacao producers as price takers so they are better equipped to negotiate their own pricing.
- Build a foundation for the de-commoditization of cacao, establishing new pricing benchmarks for specialty cacao and trade relationships that look more like long-term partnerships than speculative or extractive transactions.
- Enable consumers and chocolate makers alike to see real data and connect the dots between cacao producers, intermediaries, manufacturers, and consumers, building an honest and sustainable chocolate future together.
2021 TRANSPARENCY HEADLINES
- Suppliers selling to Uncommon Cacao were paid between 39% and 82% more than commodity prices, and Uncommon’s suppliers paid producers an average of 25% over the local market farmgate price;
- Women cacao producers represented 38% of the producers purchased from in 2021, an increase of 951 female cacao producers over 2020;
- Certified organic hectares across all Uncommon Cacao origins grew by 35% over the last year; and
- The Uncommon Cacao average farmgate price (actual price earned by cacao producers) of US $2,610/ton was higher than even the Fair Trade certified export floor price (price earned by exporters) of US $2,400/ton.
About Uncommon Cacao: Uncommon Cacao sources high-quality cacao beans for chocolate makers globally. By delivering best-in-class customer service, quality control and development, transparency reporting, and cacao adventures to 200+ chocolate makers around the world, Uncommon Cacao creates stability, trust, and transparency across the cacao supply chain.
Website: www.uncommoncacao.com
Instagram: @uncommoncacao
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Twitter: @uncommoncacao
LinkedIn: Uncommon Cacao
Feature Image: A fresh cacao pod cracked open at Latitude Trade Co in Bundibugyo, Uganda