How much do you pay your farmers?

Question

Accepted Answer

Direct (or Participatory) Trade leads to better prices for farmers

We pay a farmgate price that is 3-8x the standard market price for “wet cacao.” Most cacao growers in Ecuador have no other choice but to sell their unfermented cacao to local intermediaries who typically pay $25 for a 100-pound sack. We pay $75-200 per sack of wet cacao, depending on the age of the trees that the cacao was harvested from—with the oldest trees fetching the highest price.

Why do we pay so much for this cacao? A few reasons. For one, it’s one of the rarest and most prized cacao variety in the world, which was previously believed to be extinct. We’re also in the process of preserving and restoring Heirloom Nacional cacao with our rainforest conservation partner Third Millennium Alliance.

Read about our social and environmental commitments (including how we are paying some of the highest prices to farmers, going beyond certification, up-cycling product, and protecting endangered varieties of cacao).

Further Reading

Timeline for To'ak Chocolate and Third Millennium Alliance's Conservation Project

The Different Grades of Ecuadorian Cacao

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