Exporting cocoa to Eastern Europe

The cocoa market in Eastern Europe is dominated by multinationals mainly purchasing bulk cocoa. At the same time, Eastern Europe is a slowly emerging market for high-quality chocolate. Although trends towards higher quality and growing consumer knowledge lag in comparison with western European countries, Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria increasingly offer interesting opportunities for high-quality cocoa. Certification is not a common consumer demand in Eastern European countries, though multinational chocolate manufacturers and retailers implement their own sustainability policies, often including certification, which is thus required from cocoa exporters.