It is a traditional meeting of the weekend of All Saints’ Day which resumes its face-to-face quarters for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic: the Salon du Chocolat has opened its doors at the Porte de Versailles in Paris. , Thursday 28 ctober. Until Monday, ten producing countries and 140 brands will present their products on the theme of “rebirth”. The president of the Salon du Chocolat, Gérald Palacios, was the guest of franceinfo on Friday, October 29.
franceinfo: What does the chocolate industry represent in France?
Gerald Palacios: We are talking about 115 companies, 30,000 jobs and 3.5 billion euros in turnover. In France, 60% of production is exported. The sector is important and is developing. (…) Most chocolatiers buy their chocolate and go to sculpt it, but a major trend is developing: the bean to bar, in French “from the bean to the bar”. Concretely, consumers buy the bean and will themselves transform it locally, which allows better traceability.
How to make chocolate a sustainable product, in the sense of eco-responsibility?
This is the big challenge for the industry, which is extremely committed. Initiatives come from local companies that go and collect their own chocolate and maintain a relationship to have a quality of manufacture, minimum wages and fight against deforestation. Other initiatives are carried out at the government level. In 2022, there will be a responsibility of the companies on the origin of the products. This is called a duty of care, which will get societies to avoid deforestation and child labor. This work will therefore be done at several levels: by the artisans themselves, consumers and governments. The sector is extremely committed: it is a long-term job but things are in the process of being done.
Among the objectives of the sector, improve the income of planters. The price of cocoa has been divided by three in thirty years and producers only receive 6% of the price paid by consumers. Where does the rest of the money go?
This money goes through the manufacturing, production and distribution chain. This is why there is a very strong desire on the part of the new players to have short circuits, which make it possible to set a purchase price, to be in direct contact with the producer, to pay the right price and not to go through other sectors which take enormous margins. Some brands have their own plantations, which they control directly, or their companies there to ensure the supply. More and more, chocolate makers and processors are acting upstream to implement this sustainability.