International Cocoa Organization

International Cocoa Organization in relation with International Trade

In the context of trade organizations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following definition of International Cocoa Organization: An international commodity organization (Sec. I) established in 1973 to implement the International Cocoa Agreement of 1972. The Organization is based in London. Exporting members are Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d'lvoire, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and Western Samoa. Importing members are Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Community, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The current International Cocoa Agreement expires at the end of September 1993. Negotiations on a new Agreement are continuing; exporting members are seeking an export quota system, while importing members favor a buffer stock in conjunction with an export withholding system.