Puratos’ Cacao-Trace programme delivers record US$7.9M boost to cocoa farmers in 2024
Over 24,000 cocoa farmers across eight countries benefit from Puratos’ sustainable cocoa initiative through income bonuses and community projects.
BELGIUM – Belgium-based food group Puratos has announced that its Cacao-Trace sustainable cocoa programme delivered a record €7 million (US$7.9M) in financial support to cocoa farming communities in 2024.
The initiative, implemented through its premium chocolate brand Belcolade, provided a €3.2 million (US$3.6M) “Chocolate Bonus” and a €3.8 million (US$4.3M) “Quality Premium” to 24,073 farmers across eight countries.
The Cacao-Trace programme rewards cocoa farmers for producing high-quality beans and supports local communities through income supplements and development projects.
The Chocolate Bonus is calculated based on annual Cacao-Trace chocolate sales and is directly paid to farmers while also funding vital infrastructure in cocoa-growing regions.
In 2024, funds from the programme facilitated the construction of 72 water facilities, including tanks, towers, and pumps, as well as seven school projects.
The Quality Premium, an additional payment above the farmgate price, is awarded to farmers to recognize the superior quality of their wet cocoa beans.
Youri Dumont, Chocolate Business Unit Lead at Puratos, highlighted the impact of the programme. “Our guiding principle is ‘Great Taste, Doing Good,’ and the payments we made to our farmers and communities reflect clearly how Cacao-Trace delivers on both these fronts,” he said.
Dumont noted that the initiative has now paid out over €10 million (US$11.3M) since its inception, benefiting farming families and contributing to long-term social and economic improvements.
The company’s latest Cacao-Trace report outlines key developments in its cocoa-growing regions. In Mexico, a new grinding line was launched to enhance quality control. In Vietnam, the programme introduced its first in-house cocoa bean roasting line.
Meanwhile, Peru saw the opening of a post-harvest centre designed to ferment more than 1,000 tons of beans annually, improving bean quality and offering greater income opportunities for local farmers.
In a bid to increase industry transparency, more than 150 customer partners visited Cacao-Trace facilities to observe the programme’s implementation firsthand. Currently, over 19,000 customer partners are engaged in the initiative, helping to expand its reach and impact.
Looking ahead, Puratos is targeting further growth. The programme is ahead of schedule in its goal to plant nearly 1.2 million trees by the end of 2025 and aims to reach over 25,000 farmers this year.
By 2030, Cacao-Trace plans to distribute an annual €8 million Chocolate Bonus to 50,000 farmers worldwide.
The company reiterated that Cacao-Trace’s end-to-end approach—from wet bean processing and fermentation to expert drying and roasting—ensures consistently high chocolate quality while contributing to a fairer, more sustainable cocoa industry.
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