Cargill Marks Sustainable Cocoa Milestone in Vietnam

The delivery of the first certified sustainable beans was marked by a ceremony attended by dignitaries including Mr Nguyen Van Hoa, vice director general of Vietnam's Department of Crop Production, and Mr Nguyen Van Thiet, chief representative for UTZ Vietnam.

2/23/2011 --- The commitment of Cargill's cocoa and chocolate business to develop new sustainable cocoa economies has reached another milestone - with the delivery of the first UTZ Certified beans to its buying station in Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province in Vietnam.

The cocoa sector in Vietnam is continuing to develop and this marks an important moment in its development, as well as demonstrating Cargill's leading role in building a sustainable supply chain globally.

Harold Poelma managing director cocoa, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate said: "The delivery of the first UTZ Certified beans produced in Vietnam, from the first three certified cooperatives, is an important milestone in Vietnam's development as a producer of high quality cocoa beans - and in particular of certified sustainable beans. We are looking forward to the certification of more cooperatives in Vietnam, which will enable us to scale up the production of sustainable cocoa in the years ahead and increase the choice that we can offer our customers."

Since 2004 Cargill has been working in Vietnam, along with the Vietnamese and Dutch governments and Mars Incorporated, to help Vietnam develop its cocoa sector and produce high quality sustainable cocoa beans to meet the growing demand for certified sustainable chocolate. As part of this development Cargill supported construction of seedling houses and built buying stations close to the cocoa growing areas, providing easier access to the market for farmers. The company has also introduced its successful farmer training programme to Vietnam, which to date has trained 12,000 farmers.

As a result of these initiatives Vietnam's total cocoa crop has grown from less than 20 metric tonnes per year to a projected 2,500 metric tonnes by the end of 2011.

The delivery of the first certified sustainable beans was marked by a ceremony attended by dignitaries including Mr Nguyen Van Hoa, vice director general of Vietnam's Department of Crop Production, and Mr Nguyen Van Thiet, chief representative for UTZ Vietnam.

The UTZ Certified cocoa programme – founded by Cargill, along with Dutch development organisation Solidaridad and others in the cocoa sector –- has introduced independent certification to improve agricultural, environmental and social practices in cocoa production.