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Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

face2faceafrica.com

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Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#261

Post by reducesuffering »

1MachineElf wrote: post #193

Having worked in Whole Foods and been surrounded by family who prefer organic, free/fair type foods, I must say I do understand there is a market for the chocolates we usually see marketed as non-European. There's an emphasis on dark chocolate, "artisanal blends" with spices, etc. The kind of chocolate people pay extra for because they think it's special, then don't touch because they paid extra for and want to prese…

> "I prefer European-style chocolate. Milk chocolate. White chocolate. They're much richer"

And also much unhealthier. They contain copious amounts of added, refined sugar. Cocoa can be healthy given it's nutrient profile, but only outweighs the damage added sugar causes if the chocolate is >90% cacao.

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#262

Post by devdas »

rob74 wrote: post #103
Chris2048 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first question is: where are the main markets for chocolate? If Ghana loses access to a large percentage of the global chocolate market, controlling half the supply is as much a liability. The second question is: Is there any reason cocoa can't be grown elsewhere, or the second biggest producer can't increase production?

Yeah, I already see other tropical-zone countries cutting down even more rain forest to make space for cocoa plantations (in addition to the rain forest they are already cutting down or burning for e.g. palm oil plantations). That's not really the desirable outcome here I think...

That's not really any different from what the developed world did when they were in the same state of development.

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#263

Post by rhplus »

someonehere wrote: post #231

I read their reasoning why they’re stopping, but my gut tells me China is behind this. They’re actively tapping Africa for natural resources and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some dealings behind closed doors to hand over cacao to China.

Playbook:

    1) Ghana needs capital to build cacao processing plants
    2) Foreign investors loans capital and plant is built with skilled foreign labor
    3) Once running, plants are staffed by unskilled local labor
    4) Ghana has an unrelated financial crisis and defaults on loans
    5) Foreign investors take ownership of cacao processing plants through liens
    6) Foreign investors threaten to close plants unless they get a free-trade zone
    7) Cacao is now processed in Ghana with cheap labor and no export duties

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#264

Post by tim333 »

Mauricebranagh wrote: post #176
tim333 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was younger tariffs were popular in developing countries but they seldom seemed to produce much prosperity - quite the contrary really. Maybe if you apply the tariffs very intelligently but most developing countries are not blessed with great non corrupt governments. The >pressured into free trade agreements (for example by making aid dependent on this) is kind of telling. A lot of the long time free trading c…

And even today you can see NH users in south America facing eyewatering taxes on computer hardware.

Which is the kind of thing that hobbles the economy - it's not like those counties are building their own Intels and Apples as a result of the tariffs.

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#265

Post by [deleted] »

Mauricebranagh wrote: post #176
tim333 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was younger tariffs were popular in developing countries but they seldom seemed to produce much prosperity - quite the contrary really. Maybe if you apply the tariffs very intelligently but most developing countries are not blessed with great non corrupt governments. The >pressured into free trade agreements (for example by making aid dependent on this) is kind of telling. A lot of the long time free trading c…

And even today you can see NH users in south America facing eyewatering taxes on computer hardware.

[deleted]

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#266

Post by standardUser »

It's called industrial policy and it's pretty much the only way nations can make the leap from developing to developed. The thing is, industrial policy and mostly-free trade can and do work really well together, but for about a generation the "Washington Consensus" of free trade absolutists didn't allow it. Those countries that did so anyway, like China, were able to thrive, while smaller nations got stuck as resource exporters.

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#268

Post by devdas »

exhilaration wrote: post #188
zymhan wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK peppers are native to the Americas, I'm not sure there is a "native" African pepper. Though they certainly could have been cultivating them for 400-500 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_pepper#Origins

Thanks, another item to add to my list: corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers. All are now staples worldwide but were unknown outside of the Americas until ~500 years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_exchange has a whole list.

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#269

Post by saiya-jin »

1MachineElf wrote: post #193

Having worked in Whole Foods and been surrounded by family who prefer organic, free/fair type foods, I must say I do understand there is a market for the chocolates we usually see marketed as non-European. There's an emphasis on dark chocolate, "artisanal blends" with spices, etc. The kind of chocolate people pay extra for because they think it's special, then don't touch because they paid extra for and want to prese…

As for Lindt, milk and white chocolates are rather small portion of their portfolio [1], and at least here in Switzerland it looks accordingly in the shops - these 'artisanal' types take 80-90% of the shelves and overall are bought more than basic milk/white ones. Personally, these days if I buy then only dark one with sea salt.

Fun fact - there is stark difference between Lindt made in Switzerland and the ones made in EU (had ones from France and Germany, you have to look for fine print in the back since overall design is same). Swiss-made I found unsurprisingly only in Swiss supermarkets, with the price being 50-100% higher than the same in EU supermarkets, but the taste is much, much better. I guess higher quality coca beans are used but not sure here.

They are so good that I don't seek out local/foreign artisanal chocolate anymore, since every single one of them simply doesn't compare (apart from price which can be even significantly higher). Over the years, I've tried many. But this is obviously highly subjective and true only for variants of dark chocolate, I don't buy other types.

[1] https://www.chocolate.lindt.com/our-chocolate/our-brands/exc...

Re: Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland

#270

Post by samatman »

1MachineElf wrote: post #193

Having worked in Whole Foods and been surrounded by family who prefer organic, free/fair type foods, I must say I do understand there is a market for the chocolates we usually see marketed as non-European. There's an emphasis on dark chocolate, "artisanal blends" with spices, etc. The kind of chocolate people pay extra for because they think it's special, then don't touch because they paid extra for and want to prese…

I might have a bad attitude about people's food preferences as well, if I had worked at Whole Foods.

I assure you, a bar of dark chocolate with "fancy" spices has never expired in my pantry. The Swiss stuff is ok, if your palate reached maturity at seven years old†.

† this is not my actual opinion. I'm ribbing you.

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