Cocoa-producing countries have asked the European Union for at least two more years to comply with EU regulation intended to ensure that beans imported to Europe do not come from deforested plots. But despite the mounting pressure, the Commission says it remains focused on implementing the regulation.
In a joint declaration signed last week at the headquarters of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) in Côte d'Ivoire, cocoa-producing countries said that implementation deadlines set by the EU were "unrealistic in view of the requirements of the regulation, which range from the geolocation of plots to the establishment of an exhaustive traceability system".
