Rising cocoa prices are generating increased interest in positioning Nigeria as a significant player in the cocoa industry, with aspirations to compete with leading producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, where crops have suffered due to climate change and disease.
Nigeria has faced challenges in diversifying its oil-dependent economy, but the surge in global cocoa prices, which reached a record $12,000 per ton in December, has drawn renewed attention to cocoa bean production.
“The farmers have never had it so good,” stated Patrick Adebola, executive director at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP).
This year, over a dozen local companies have shown interest in investing in or expanding their cocoa production. Additionally, the British government’s development finance agency has recently invested $40.5 million in Nigerian agribusiness firm Johnvents.
According to the latest data from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Nigeria ranks as the seventh largest cocoa bean producer, generating over 280,000 tons in 2023.
The Nigerian government has set an ambitious goal of reaching 500,000 tons for the 2024-2025 crop season, aiming to surpass other countries and secure the fourth position globally, behind Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Indonesia.
While Adebola is skeptical that Nigeria can meet this target within the current season, he believes it is achievable in the coming years, as interest grows in rehabilitating existing plantations and establishing new ones.
He noted that Nigerian cocoa farmers are more susceptible to the fluctuations of the global cocoa market compared to their counterparts in Ivory Coast and Ghana, where cocoa prices are more regulated.
Although cocoa futures in New York have declined from their December peak, they remain elevated at over $8,000 per ton. Historically, cocoa prices have typically ranged between $2,000 and $3,000 before this recent spike.
“Individuals are entering cocoa production at all levels to ensure they benefit from the current pricing,” said Comrade Adeola Adegoke, president of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria.
