News in brief:
– Nigeria cocoa exports surged by 60% in 2023, earning over ₦400 billion, with cocoa beans leading but other products contributing significantly.
– While there’s potential for increased earnings in 2024, concerns arise about raw exports over local processing.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria earned over ₦400 billion in cocoa exports in 2023. Crunching the numbers with historical data, the West African country recorded a 60% increase in the value of its cocoa products exports.
While the highest earner remains its superior quality cocoa beans, other cocoa products, such as standard-quality beans and natural cocoa butter, also significantly contributed to this growth.
Cocoa exports remain a significant driver of Nigeria’s efforts to diversify foreign exchange earnings away from crude oil. It represents about 32.61% of total agricultural exports for the past year, as the sector increased its contribution to exports from 2.23% to 3.46%.
With farmers well positioned to benefit from rising international cocoa prices, thanks to a deregulated market (unlike their neighbours), their earnings could further rise in 2024. However, this rise in prices and growing exports present a potential danger.
Primary producers may be incentivised to export more cocoa in its raw form rather than taking the time to process or add value locally. In a statement by the national president of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Adeola Adegoke, only 10% of the country’s raw cocoa produce is processed locally.
“At least, 50 per cent of our cocoa must be processed locally against the 90 per cent of our cocoa beans currently being exported,” Adegoke said. He called for more government involvement in the sector through subsidised farm inputs, credit facilities, and capacity building.
In addition, he mentioned that the National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) should focus on securing investments in the sector as well as establishing stable regulatory frameworks on quality, smuggling, pesticides use, extension management, R&D, traceability, child labour eradication, and deforestation control.
Some of these problems, like child labour and deforestation could become bigger problems when the EU finalise laws prohibitting produce sourced through this illegal practices.
