By Lucy Ogalue
Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana will launch a Cocoa Value Addition Alliance in Abuja to strengthen Africa’s position in the global cocoa market.
The Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, said this in a statement on Friday.
The four countries produce about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa and will sign the Abuja Declaration at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 on Tuesday.
The declaration commits the countries to negotiate, set standards and engage global markets through a unified regional platform.
Nigeria will also sign the Cocoa Value Addition Accord with cocoa-producing states, industry groups, researchers and development financiers.
The accord commits stakeholders to measurable targets on cocoa processing, farmer income, investment and value addition.
The summit, themed “From Bean to Brand,” is convened by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The minister of state for industry said Africa must take greater control of its cocoa value chain.
“For a hundred years, Africa has sent its cocoa to the world in sacks and received it back in wrappers, paying at both ends of the transaction.
“The distance between a bean and a brand is measured in jobs and dignity. We do not gather to lament the market; we gather to redesign our place in it,” he said.
Enoh said the alliance would help member countries expand local processing, manufacturing and branding of cocoa products.
The summit comes amid volatile global cocoa prices and new European Union traceability requirements for cocoa imports.
Participants are expected to adopt a common position on implementing the European Union Deforestation Regulation while protecting smallholder farmers from additional compliance costs.
The summit will feature financing discussions involving the Bank of Industry, NIRSAL and development finance institutions.
It will also showcase plans for Nigeria’s largest cocoa processing plant, a 70,000-metric-tonne facility in Sagamu, Ogun, expected to begin operations in 2027.
The summit forms part of the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Policy, which prioritises agro-industrial value addition under the Tinubu administration. (NAN)
