Among the main challenges facing cocoa-producing countries are the fight against deforestation. According to a study published by the Cocoa and Forest Initiative (ICF), while Ghana was able to restore 226,000 hectares of forests, Côte d'Ivoire planted nearly 10 million trees during the year 2020.La Côte d'Ivoire, the world's leading supplier of cocoa, now uses satellite monitoring for greater efficiency in the fight against deforestation. In both Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, the increase in cocoa production has not spared forest areas in recent years.
According to Global Forest Watch, the two nations were the scene between 2017 and 2018, of the largest loss of primary forest area in a tropical region with 60% and 26% respectively. This new evidence of progress in the fight against deforestation comes at a time when the EU is currently refining more stringent regulations on bean sustainability.