President Bola Tinubu has announced plans to end the export of raw cocoa beans, saying Nigeria will instead focus on processing cocoa locally and producing finished products such as chocolate.
Speaking through the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 in Abuja, the president said the move forms part of a broader strategy to industrialise Nigeria’s agricultural sector and increase earnings from cocoa.
The summit, attended by government officials, investors and representatives from major African cocoa-producing countries, focused on expanding local value addition under the theme, “From Bean to Brand: The Bean in My Hand, The Brand in Our Future.”
Mr Tinubu said Africa produces about 70% of the world’s cocoa but earns only a small share of the global chocolate market, estimated to be worth between $130bn and $165bn.
He said Nigeria would no longer export raw cocoa while importing finished products, adding that the country intends to process, package and brand cocoa domestically for export.
As part of the plan, the government highlighted the construction of a 70,000-tonne cocoa processing facility in Sagamu, Ogun State, which it said will become Nigeria’s largest processing plant when completed.
He also said Nigeria’s cocoa processing capacity has expanded from about 50,000 tonnes to more than 120,000 tonnes annually. More than 300,000 farming families cultivate cocoa across 1.4 million hectares, contributing between 6% and 7% of global cocoa production.
The Bank of Industry (BOI) announced new financial support for the sector. Its Managing Director, Olasupo Olusi, said the bank had secured a €60m credit facility from the European Investment Bank to support cocoa production and processing.
He said the funding would target nurseries, farming cooperatives, processing plants, packaging companies and chocolate manufacturers. According to him, the BOI disbursed more than ₦164bn to over 3,500 agro-processing businesses in 2025, benefiting nearly 48,000 smallholder farmers.
Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Enoh, said Nigeria aims to move beyond exporting unprocessed cocoa beans and build a globally competitive cocoa manufacturing industry.
Regional cooperation also featured prominently at the summit. Ghana Cocoa Board Chief Executive Ransford Abbey called on Nigeria and Cameroon to join the existing cocoa partnership between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
He said a four-country alliance would account for about 75% of global cocoa production, strengthening Africa’s influence over cocoa pricing, traceability standards and farmer welfare.
The summit ended with the adoption of the Cocoa Value Addition Accord and the Abuja Declaration, committing participating governments and stakeholders to increased local processing, improved returns for farmers and greater regional cooperation in the cocoa industry.
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