Barry Callebaut Resists Calls for Ban on Ivory Coast Cocoa

Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s largest maker of bulk chocolate, said it’s resisting calls to stop buying cocoa from Ivory Coast.

“There is no chocolate production without supply from Ivory Coast,” Hans Vriens, the company’s chief innovation officer, said in an interview at the Cologne sweets fair today.

Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the country’s November election, has asked cocoa and coffee exporters to halt shipments for a month to force his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, to step down. Cargill Inc. on Jan. 24 said it suspended purchases from that market.

Cocoa has jumped 17 percent since the disputed election.

Avaaz, an online lobby group, said 233,000 of its members have sent messages to the chocolate industry, including Zurich- based Barry Callebaut, to urge them to suspend cocoa deliveries.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-31/barry-callebaut-resists-calls-for-ban-on-ivory-coast-cocoa.html)