Nigeria, African Cocoa Producers Adopt Abuja Declaration To Boost Local Processing

The federal government has announced that Nigeria and other cocoa-producing African countries have agreed to deepen collaboration to strengthen local cocoa processing, improve farmers’ earnings and increase the continent’s share of the global cocoa value chain.

Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Enoh, disclosed this in a statement shared on his verified X account on Sunday, following the conclusion of the Cocoa Value Addition Summit held in Abuja.

According to Enoh, the summit ended with the adoption of the Abuja Declaration, a framework designed to promote value addition within Africa’s cocoa industry and reduce dependence on exporting raw cocoa beans.

He said the initiative seeks to address the long-standing imbalance in the global cocoa trade, where African countries produce most of the world’s cocoa but receive only a small portion of the industry’s overall value.

“Every cocoa farmer who has ever sold a harvest for less than its worth already understands the value gap in the cocoa industry. Earlier this week, the Cocoa Value Addition Summit was held to bridge this gap,” the minister said.

Enoh noted that for decades, cocoa-producing nations have exported raw beans only to import finished products at significantly higher prices.

“For generations, our cocoa has left home unfinished and returned to us finished, at prices we had no hand in setting. The summit was called to bridge that gap, giving Nigeria and its neighbours the tools to process, brand and price cocoa on their own terms,” he added.

As part of the Abuja Declaration, participating countries agreed to adopt a coordinated approach to global cocoa trade, improve standards and traceability across the cocoa supply chain, and prepare for emerging international trade requirements, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation, which takes effect on December 30, 2026.

The regulation will require exporters of commodities such as cocoa to prove their products are not linked to deforestation before entering EU markets.

Enoh said the declaration would benefit cocoa farmers, processors and entrepreneurs by encouraging local manufacturing, improving competitiveness and creating globally recognized African cocoa brands.

“This is a declaration for the farmer chasing a fairer price, the processor scaling a factory floor, and the entrepreneur building a brand the world will recognize. Growth here means growth felt where it matters most, at the root of the industry,” he said.

Nigeria is one of Africa’s leading cocoa producers alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon. However, like many producing nations, much of its cocoa is exported in raw form, limiting the country’s earnings from the global chocolate and confectionery industry.

The federal government said the Cocoa Value Addition Summit is part of broader efforts to promote local processing, strengthen supply chain standards, diversify exports and enable African countries to capture a larger share of the multibillion-dollar global cocoa market.