Nigeria to end raw cocoa exports, focus on local processing
via Punch Nigeria11 min read
President Bola Tinubu announced Nigeria will cease exporting raw cocoa beans and importing finished chocolate products, aiming to transform the country's cocoa industry through local processing, industrialisation, and value addition. Speaking at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 in Abuja, President Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, stated that the era of exporting raw agricultural commodities without capturing their full economic value must end. This initiative seeks to create jobs, attract investments, and increase foreign exchange earnings from cocoa. He highlighted that while Africa produces about 70 percent of the world's cocoa, it earns a small share of the over $130 billion global chocolate industry because processing and manufacturing occur overseas. The President noted that Nigeria's national grinding capacity has surpassed 120,000 tons per year and is growing, with new facilities being built. The Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, emphasized that this move is a key step in implementing the Nigerian Industrial Policy to expand domestic manufacturing. The Federal Government is also pursuing collaboration with Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon to establish an African cocoa alliance. The Bank of Industry, through its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, affirmed its readiness to provide long-term financing for the cocoa value chain, having disbursed over N164
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