At the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, the European Commission and its partners showcased progress under the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative, a Team Europe flagship transforming the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Cameroon. Through private and public investments and grants, sustainability standards, and responsible trade, the initiative is helping farmers earn fairer incomes, expand local cocoa processing, and protect forests while strengthening Europe’s sustainable supply chains. In terms of EU private sector investments, €100 million of EIB intermediated loans have been granted to certified sustainable cocoa cooperatives over the past 3 years. EIB plans to triple this amount in the next three years.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela said: “On cocoa depends the livelihood of millions of African farmers. However, for too long, most of the value has been created outside Africa, while local communities saw only a fraction of the benefit and bore the environmental cost of shipping raw beans abroad. Through the Global Gateway, we are investing in a fairer, greener, and more resilient cocoa sector that keeps more value - and more jobs - where cocoa is grown. By promoting local processing, fair prices, and sustainable farming, we are creating real opportunity for our partners while reducing emissions and strengthening Europe’s responsible supply chains.”
The Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič underlined that “as the EU, we are the world’s largest importer of cocoa. Nearly 65% of EU cocoa imports come from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana & Cameroon. This status comes with responsibility: through the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative, we work with both the private sector and partner governments to ensure that cocoa products are produced and traded sustainably.”
The EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative brings together the economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainability. It aims to make sure the price of cocoa reflects the cost of its sustainable production, so that producers earn a decent income, nature is protected, and child labour is eliminated.
With cocoa prices now three times higher than historic levels, farmers and stakeholders can invest more in sustainable production and agroforestry. Stable prices give farmers confidence, while European Development Finance Institutions support them with “cocoa credit lines” to meet financing needs.
For example, Côte d’Ivoire has attracted hundreds of millions of euros in investments. The next challenge is ensuring that processors have steady access to quality cocoa beans, so factories can operate fully, and jobs are secured.
To support this, the EU committed a study on financing opportunities for cocoa processing, whose findings have been unveiled today at the Global Gateway Forum. The EU is also promoting sustainable trade with partners through Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreements (SIFAs). These agreements will create a stable investment climate, set sustainability standards, and align trade and development tools.
Background
The EU is the world’s largest cocoa importer, with 65% of its cocoa coming from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Cameroon. Thanks to their respective Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU, these countries benefit from duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market. This makes the region vital to EU supply chains and central to the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative, which promotes sustainable, traceable, and fair cocoa production. In parallel, the respective Economic Partnership Agreements also serve as a platform for sustainability discussions.
Key Development Finance Institutions supporting the initiative include FMO (Netherlands), BIO (Belgium), and the EIB.
The initiative also supports cooperatives through the ABC Investment Fund and local financial institutions, while stakeholders-including private companies, civil society, and local processors-participate in shaping the initiative through the EU’s Cocoa Talks.
Team Europe coordinates efforts from the EU, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, and Switzerland through the National Platforms for Sustainable Cocoa in Europe (ISCOs).
Global Gateway Forum
The Global Gateway Forum brings together an assembly of leaders from the European Union and across the globe, alongside key stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, thought leaders, financial institutions, and international organisations to promote global investment in infrastructure to deliver on the SDGs and sustainable growth and resilience worldwide.
Global Gateway
Global Gateway is the EU's positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.
The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions. Together, we aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.
For more information
Details
- Publication date
- 10 October 2025
- Author
- Directorate-General for International Partnerships