Too Sweet a Deal: American “Candy Men” and International Cocoa Negotiations in the 1960s

This chapter explores the rise of cocoa commodity policy amid the G-77 countries’ movement for economic sovereignty and the resistance they encountered from the United States, the leading consumer of cocoa. A key commodity in West Africa and South America, cocoa—and its volatile prices—were deeply entwined with the development aspirations of these regions. However, the U.S. candy industry was vehemently against artificially raised raw cocoa prices, which they feared would cut into their profits. Consequently, American “candy men” launched a broad-based public relations campaign to lobby against a cocoa commodity agreement. This chapter argues that the candy men’s domestic lobbying efforts against cocoa price-stabilization ultimately influenced the U.S. approach to cocoa-producing nations, shaping North-South relations for decades to come.