Cocoa Industry Envisages Export Boom through Value Creation

The International Cocoa Diplomacy in conjunction with NEXIM bank and Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria organises the International Cocoa and Chocolate Forum (ICCF) with the theme, “Putting Value in Cocoa at Producing Regions.”

The ICCF conference aims to create acocoa culture that will intentionally add value to ocoa exports as a major step towards maximizing the benefits of investments in the sector; create wealth at origin and explore ways for shared prosperity.

It is a follow up on the discussion at the recently concluded UK edition with the theme:” The new EU policy, its effect on cocoa producing regions and the way forward for the global cocoa trade.”

Cocoa is a leading non-oil export commodity in Nigeria, and during the pre-oil era was indeed a major driver of foreign exchange earnings for the country. However, Nigeria lost its lead in the production and export of cocoa to now rank 4th producer behind countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia. This problem can be attributed mainly to the aged plantations and lack of investment in the sector over the years.

It is instructive to note that the cocoa industry (including beans, cake, chocolate, etc) is worth $200bn annually, out of which the entire West African region (made up of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameron and Nigeria) which accounts for about 70 -75% of the global output only earns $10bn.

According to the International Trade Centre (ITC) report, Nigeria produced 208 MT of cocoa beans in 2021 but only generated a total income of $628m. However, Germany, which did not produce cocoa earned a whopping $57.3bn from export of cocoa products.

The conference seeks an open discourse that brings together producers, consumers, policy makers, farmers, heads of government to discover innovative ways to improve cocoa production for increased export incentives and to highlight the intrinsic value of the Nigerian beans which is known for its unique flavor.

The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Chief Olawale Edun will grace the occasion as the Honorary Chairman of the Forum in Abuja and declare the conference open while the Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari is expected as Special Guest and Keynote Speaker at the event.

The Lagos session will have the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state as the Chief Host to declare the ceremony open while the Honourable Minister of Environment will deliver a keynote speech on the link between Sustainability and Investments for a global market.

The ICCF 2024 is slated for the 9th and 11th January 2024 at Abuja and Lagos respectively.