Montezuma’s Trading Fairly

Our Trade . . . let me try and convince you that there is a way small companies can make a difference and that Fairtradeisn’t the only way.

“Trading Fairly” means much more to us than ensuring our ingredients come from sources where growers get a fair price but that is precisely where Fairtrade ends. 

Our policy means that we won’t deal with any business that cannot uphold similar standards to ours, both at home and overseas.

Our organic cocoa mostly comes from a co-operative of over 9000 small plantations in the Dominican Republic while some comesfrom a similar but smaller co-op in Peru.  These co-ops have a strong social structure that re-invests into the local society and infrastructure in a way that makes their cocoa based agriculture sustainable, equitable and indeed profitable.

Our partners get a price for their cocoa very significantly above the open market price for cocoa and indeed a price above the price paid for “Fairtrade” cocoa.

Admittedly we buy probably the best cocoa in the world and pay handsomely for that privilege while the vast majority of Fairtrade cocoa, which although worthy, is not of an acceptable quality for us.

The icing on our chocolate cake is that the method and structure of our partners means we can reinforce our social, environmental and quality aims through their hard work and particularly careful husbandry in producing organic cocoa in the top league of cocoa.  We love it when a plan works this well!

In 2007, we were proud to be included in The Guardian’s Top 10 Ethical Chocolate Companies.