Global trends in sustainable cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production: A bibliometric analysis (2019–2025)

Currently, there is global concern about rising temperatures, which, together with the food risk, is causing climate change. In addition, cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production is questioned because of its production method, which generates deforestation and high energy and water consumption in the process. These environmental problems cause a bad image in the sector, and uncertainty in the overall production of the cocoa industry, which has been striving to implement sustainable practices to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, solutions to this environmental issue have received little attention from the scientific community, and the need has arisen to investigate sustainable solutions for the cocoa industry. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis to identify global sustainable trends that have been researched in the cocoa industry. For this purpose, a search strategy was designed and applied in the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases, to collect information, filtering the results, in the categories of articles related to the agriculture and business groups in the 2019-2025 period, published in journals cataloged in quartiles one and two. Using the R programming language for information processing, 56 documents were found. Eleven sustainable practices were identified in the industry to improve social, economic, and environmental performance through waste valorization, soil improvement, reduction of water and energy consumption, and the adoption of green certifications. Finally, a framework is proposed for integrating the links in the supply chain with the practices for making them most sustainable.