Australia: Cadbury to import fairtrade cocoa and support PNG farmers

Cadbury Australia, part of the Mondelez International group, has recently announced its partnership with agribusiness Monpi Cocoa Exports to begin importing Fairtrade cocoa beans from Papua New Guinea (PNG).

As reported by Australian Food News, Cadbury has been supporting the efforts of Club 3000, a group of smallholder cocoa farmers, to sell its cocoa under fairtrade terms, while Monpi Cocoa Exports has been training Club 3000 farmers to produce high quality fairtrade certified cocoa “in order to bring sustainable income to the farmers and their families”.

Cadbury spokesperson Stephanie Saliba said: “While relatively small in terms of the global cocoa market, the PNG cocoa industry offers great potential. Sustainability initiatives like Club 3000 are helping farmers to improve the efficiency of their farming, increase their yields and in doing so improve their livelihoods and live”.

Meanwhile Molly Harriss Olson, CEO of Fairtrade Australia New Zealand, said: “We were delighted to partner with Cadbury and Monpi Cocoa Exports on the Club 3000 project, which will greatly benefit the 629 farmers involved”. She went on to add: “Building PNG’s cocoa production capacity is a big step in the right direction for sustainability and ensuring Australia can meet the demand for ethical and delicious chocolate”.

Source: Australian Food News