Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon form alliance to boost local processing and global market power

WEST AFRICA – Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have launched a regional alliance aimed at increasing cocoa value addition, strengthening Africa’s bargaining power in global trade and expanding local processing across the continent’s leading cocoa-producing nations. 

The four countries, which together produce about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa, are expected to formalise the partnership by signing the Abuja Declaration during the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026.  

The agreement will establish the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance, enabling member states to develop common standards, coordinate market positions and engage international buyers as a unified bloc. 

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the alliance represents a significant step toward transforming Africa’s role in the global 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 in dignity, and on Tuesday, in Abuja, four nations began closing that distance together. We do not gather to lament the market. We gather to redesign our place in it,” Enoh said. 

The initiative is regarded as one of the continent’s most ambitious efforts to capture a larger share of the cocoa industry’s value chain, which has traditionally been dominated by multinational processors and chocolate manufacturers in Europe and North America. 

Alongside the regional agreement, Nigeria will sign a Cocoa Value Addition Accord, bringing together the Federal Government, cocoa-producing states, farmer organisations, processors, researchers and development finance institutions.  

The accord commits stakeholders to measurable targets for domestic processing, farmer incomes and investment, with implementation overseen by a delivery council chaired by the Minister of State for Industry and supported by annual progress reports. 

The alliance also aims to address challenges affecting the global cocoa industry, including market volatility and evolving trade regulations. Global cocoa prices have fluctuated sharply in recent months, rising above US$11,000 per metric tonne before declining and later recovering to around US$5,000, exposing both farmers and processors to market risks. 

Member countries will also develop a common position on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which takes effect on December 30, 2026, for large and medium-sized operators.  

The alliance plans to advocate for recognition of national traceability systems while seeking to minimise compliance costs for smallholder farmers. 

The summit will also feature updates on Nigeria’s cocoa processing expansion, including the planned commissioning in 2027 of Sunbeth Global Concepts’ 70,000-metric-tonne cocoa processing facility in Sagamu, Ogun State, alongside discussions involving the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Côte d’Ivoire’s Le Conseil du Café-Cacao, the Bank of Industry and NIRSAL. 

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