Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon have announced a major regional partnership aimed at transforming Africa’s dominant position in the global cocoa industry.
The alliance seeks to shift away from decades of exporting raw cocoa beans towards coordinated processing, value addition and unified marketing.
The four countries together produce about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa and account for a similar share of global exports.
The new Cocoa Value Addition Alliance will coordinate agricultural and trade policies, promote local processing of cocoa into higher-value products, harmonise quality standards and present a united front in negotiations with international buyers.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said the Federal Government is prioritising the local processing of raw materials, including cocoa and shea nut, before export to boost industrialisation and economic growth.
Ghana also stressed that Africa should take greater control of the global cocoa market instead of relying on foreign processors that dictate cocoa prices.
The new alliance is expected to encourage investment in local factories, technology and value-added industries, helping member countries earn more from cocoa production while creating jobs across the region.
For years, West African cocoa-producing countries have exported most of their cocoa beans in raw form, capturing only a small fraction of the final value, while chocolate and other processed cocoa products are manufactured abroad.
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