Gepa increases chocolate sales by 21 per cent

15.8 million chocolate products were sold by the Fair Trade company in 2021. Gepa has raised the minimum price per tonne for which the organisation buys cocoa from its suppliers to 3,500 US dollars.

The fair trade company Gepa was able to significantly increase its chocolate sales last year. Consumers consumed 1366 tonnes of chocolate bars, confectionery and seasonal products such as chocolate bishops and Easter bunnies in 2021, 20.1 per cent more than in the previous year, the company announced. This corresponds to 15.8 million chocolate products. According to its own information, Gepa's growth was thus far above average compared to the general trend.

Gepa also announced that it had raised its minimum price for organic raw cocoa to 3,500 US dollars per tonne last year. The so-called "cocoa plus price" is thus "44.2 per cent above the average world market price in 2021". On average, Gepa had paid 3,700 US dollars per tonne of organic cocoa.

According to Gepa, the higher purchase prices benefit long-standing organic cocoa partners from the Dominican Republic on the one hand, and two new East African partner cooperatives with which the company has been working since last year on the other. In 2021, 90.6 per cent of Gepa's products were certified organic and most were certified according to the higher Naturland standard, according to the company.