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Episode details

World Service,15 Apr 2022,26 mins

Is this the world's best chocolate?

World Business Report

Available for over a year

São Tomé and Príncipe was once the world’s biggest exporter of cocoa but when the horrific working conditions were exposed in the 1920s, chocolate manufacturers switched their source of beans to Ghana and Ivory Coast. SãoTomé has now repositioned itself as one of a producer of some of the world's best quality chocolate; the BBC's Tamasin Ford finds out more. We also hear how Swiss-Ghanaian startup, KOA is buying cocoa pulp to turn into high value products as the BBC's Thomas Naadi in Ghana explains. And in Shanghai, China's commercial capital, lockdowns continue, threatening to have a real impact on the economy; Nicole lives in central Shanghai and works for a foreign company and she says the restrictions are hitting smaller businesses especially hard. (Picture description: artisanal chocolate made from cocoa grown on São Tomé and Príncipe, Picture credit: Russell Newlove)

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