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Nigeria Halts Raw Cocoa Exports to Boost Domestic Processing
Nigeria has joined West African neighbors in agreeing to stop exporting raw cocoa beans, aiming to capture more value from its cocoa production through domestic processing and manufacturing.
President Bola Tinubu announced this week that Nigeria will no longer export raw cocoa beans, instead focusing on processing, branding, and manufacturing finished cocoa products domestically. The policy shift was formalized through the Abuja Declaration, signed by Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon.
The four-nation alliance controls approximately 75% of global cocoa production and intends to negotiate with international buyers as a single bloc. Tinubu highlighted that although Africa produces about 70% of the world's cocoa, the continent earns only a small fraction of the over $130 billion global chocolate industry, as most processing and manufacturing occur overseas.
The move is part of a broader strategy to retain more economic value from commodity exports. Nigeria has already extended a ban on raw shea nut exports until February 2027, encouraging local processing of shea butter and related products for cosmetics and other industries.
The shift could significantly impact global supply chains for cocoa butter and other ingredients used in beauty and food manufacturing, particularly as West African nations seek to build local processing capacity.