Nat’l Tymes News Desk
GHANA will next week join Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon in a landmark move aimed at transforming Africa’s cocoa industry by reducing the export of raw cocoa beans and promoting local processing.
The four leading cocoa-producing countries will meet in Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday for the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026, where they are expected to sign the Abuja Declaration to establish a new Cocoa Value Addition Alliance.
The alliance seeks to end decades of exporting raw cocoa while most of the profits from chocolate and other cocoa products are made abroad. Instead, the countries plan to process more cocoa locally, create jobs, increase incomes for farmers and industries, and earn greater value from one of Africa’s most important cash crops.
Together, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon produce about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa, making the new partnership a significant step towards strengthening Africa’s influence in the global cocoa market.
Under the proposed alliance, the four countries will coordinate policies, harmonise quality standards, encourage investment in local cocoa processing and negotiate with international buyers as a united bloc. The move is also expected to improve their bargaining power and help secure fairer prices for cocoa-producing nations.
For millions of cocoa farmers across West and Central Africa, the initiative offers renewed hope that more of the wealth generated from cocoa will remain on the continent, creating jobs, supporting local industries and driving economic growth.
The Abuja summit is widely seen as a turning point in Africa’s quest to move beyond exporting raw materials and build stronger value-added industries that benefit its people. If successfully implemented, the alliance could reshape the global cocoa trade and position Africa as a stronger force in the international chocolate industry.
Source: Nationaltymes.com
