Worldwide cocoa agreement signed

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Worldwide cocoa agreement signed

GENEVA, Switzerland, (UPI) -- Cocoa-producing and consuming countries meeting in Switzerland have reached agreement on a pact to make the industry fairer and more sustainable, officials say.

At a United Nations meeting in Geneva Friday they signed the International Cocoa Agreement outlining objectives for a more sustainable cocoa economy, measures to improve the transparency of the international cocoa market and efforts to promote the quality of the crop, a U.N. release said.

In a consensus reached by exporting and importing nations the agreement will take effect in 2012 and last 10 initial years with possible extensions for two further four-year periods, the release said.

The export value of cocoa bean production in 2009-10 is estimated at $10 billion, figures cited by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development show.

Cocoa is grown mainly by smallholder farmers in West Africa, Central and South America and Asia, but largely consumed in affluent countries as chocolate and in other products, the release said.
 
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