Cocoa beans from multiple co-ops are cleaned, graded and bagged together before they are taken to the docks and shipped abroad.
Photographer: Paul Ninson/BloombergChocolate and Cosmetics Face Price Jolt From Cocoa Supply Chain Law
Cocoa prices are at an all-time high as production in West Africa declines. Now an EU regulation meant to stop deforestation threatens to push prices even higher.
Cocoa’s journey from bean to bar winds through a rebagging plant like this one in San Pedro, Ivory Coast, where about 20 trailer trucks arrive every day brimming with tons of stock for international markets.
Workers wearing masks against the dust unload sacks weighing as much as 65 kilograms (143 pounds) and tear them open, prepping the contents for drying, sorting and cleaning. Others sweep loose beans on the floor into piles for collection.