The Federal Government will next Tuesday host Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana in Abuja for a landmark summit where the four countries will launch a historic alliance to end decades of exporting raw cocoa beans and begin negotiating with global markets as a united bloc.
The four countries, which together account for about two-thirds of global cocoa production, are expected to sign the Abuja Declaration at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 in Abuja, establishing a Cocoa Value Addition Alliance to coordinate policies, promote local processing, harmonise standards and strengthen Africa’s bargaining power in the global cocoa industry.
Nigeria will also sign a separate Cocoa Value Addition Accord, a national compact that will bring together the federal government, governors of cocoa-producing states, farmer organisations, industry groups, researchers and development finance institutions to deliver measurable improvements in cocoa processing, farmer incomes and investment.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the Special Assistant, Media Office of the Minister of State for Industry, Odenke Ibiang in Abuja.
According to the statement, the summit, themed “From Bean to Brand,” represents a turning point for Africa’s cocoa industry as producing countries seek to retain more value from the commodity instead of exporting raw beans for processing abroad.
