Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon have signed the Abuja Declaration, forming a regional alliance to end the export of raw cocoa beans and promote value addition across Africa’s cocoa industry.
The agreement, signed on Tuesday during the 2026 Cocoa Value Addition Summit in Abuja, positions the four countries to negotiate with international cocoa buyers as a united bloc responsible for about 75 per cent of global cocoa production.
The summit brought together government officials, financiers and key industry stakeholders to chart a new direction for Africa’s cocoa sector by prioritising local processing, manufacturing and branding over the export of raw cocoa beans.
Representing President Bola Tinubu at the event, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said Nigeria is committed to ending the practice of exporting raw cocoa while importing finished chocolate products.
According to Kyari, President Tinubu declared that Nigeria would no longer export raw cocoa beans while importing finished products, stressing that the country would process its cocoa locally by grinding cocoa beans, producing cocoa butter and manufacturing chocolate for both local consumption and export.
Tinubu also disclosed that investors are constructing a 70,000-tonne cocoa processing facility in Sagamu, Ogun State, describing it as the largest cocoa processing project in Nigeria’s history. He added that Nigeria’s installed cocoa grinding capacity has now surpassed 120,000 tonnes annually.
The President further noted that the Bank of Industry (BOI) has made funding available to support viable cocoa investment projects across the country.
Speaking at the summit, BOI Managing Director, Olasupo Olusi, said Nigeria produces more than 300,000 tonnes of cocoa annually, but only about 50,000 tonnes of its installed processing capacity is currently utilised.
Olusi disclosed that the bank disbursed over ₦164 billion to more than 3,500 agro-processing businesses in 2025 and secured a €60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank to support cocoa value addition.
He added that the BOI would establish dedicated financing windows for cocoa processing, ingredient manufacturing, packaging and chocolate production.
“We are not approaching cocoa as a lending programme; we are building an industrial ecosystem,” Olusi said.
Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Enoh, said the new regional alliance would enable African cocoa-producing countries to secure a larger share of the global chocolate market, estimated at more than 130 billion dollars.
“We are not interested in exporting anonymous sacks anymore. We are interested in exporting value,” Enoh said.
He also announced that the four countries would adopt a common position on the European Union Deforestation Regulation, scheduled to take effect for large and medium cocoa operators on December 30, 2026.
According to Enoh, member countries will seek recognition of their national traceability systems while resisting any move to transfer compliance costs to smallholder farmers.
The minister further disclosed that Nigeria had adopted a Cocoa Value Addition Accord, committing the Federal Government, cocoa-producing states, farmer organisations, industry groups and development finance institutions to measurable targets on cocoa processing and improved farmer incomes.
He said a delivery council would oversee implementation of the accord and publish annual progress reports.
Also speaking, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Ransford Abbey, said although Africa accounts for between 75 and 77 per cent of global cocoa production, the continent receives less than 10 per cent of the value generated by the international chocolate industry.
“We do not need charity. We deserve equity. The time has come for Africa to process its own wealth, protect its farmers and negotiate with one voice in the global cocoa market,” Abbey said.
He added that global cocoa prices have declined significantly after rising above 11,000 dollars per tonne in late 2024, forcing Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to reduce producer prices.
The summit concluded with the formal adoption of both the Abuja Declaration and the Cocoa Value Addition Accord, marking a major step towards ending raw cocoa exports, expanding local processing and strengthening Africa’s position in the global cocoa value chain.
