Despite being the world’s largest producer of cocoa, Africa has yet to fully capitalize on its dominant position in the global industry. The continent produces approximately 70% of the world’s cocoa, yet astonishingly earns less than 5% of the profits generated from the global cocoa value chain.
In the latest episode of The BreakDown podcast, Sandra Babu-Boateng explores how this narrative can be reshaped to favor Africa and its people. The central question remains: how can Africa, as the powerhouse of cocoa production, begin to truly benefit from its output?
Did you know that Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana alone are responsible for over 50% of global cocoa production? These two nations, along with Cameroon and Nigeria, are at the forefront of the continent’s cocoa industry. According to a 2023 cocoa bean production report, Côte d’Ivoire led with 2,377,442 tonnes, followed by Ghana (653,700 tonnes), Cameroon (295,819 tonnes), and Nigeria (284,232 tonnes). Other contributors include the Democratic Republic of Congo (35,000 tonnes), Uganda (35,000 tonnes), Guinea (23,164 tonnes), and Madagascar (20,000 tonnes), among others.
These figures highlight Africa’s undeniable dominance in cocoa production. However, the true economic benefits of cocoa remain largely out of reach for African nations. The reason? Most of the continent’s cocoa is exported as raw beans to Europe, the United States, and other regions, where it is transformed into chocolate and other high-value cocoa-based products.
This model is economically limiting. While Africa supplies the bulk of the world’s cocoa, the real profits are made overseas—by multinational companies that handle processing, branding, and retail. Even cocoa farmers, the backbone of the industry, earn meager wages for their labor, with many never even tasting the chocolate their beans help create. This stark imbalance in the cocoa value chain keeps African nations at the lower end of the industry’s economic ladder.
Efforts to process cocoa locally are underway, with some entrepreneurs and initiatives championing value addition. However, these efforts remain limited in scale. To shift the industry’s dynamics, Africa must invest in large-scale cocoa processing, create strong local brands, and develop policies that ensure fairer market conditions for farmers.
On The BreakDown podcast, Sandra Babu-Boateng shares insightful suggestions on how Africa can reclaim value from its cocoa industry and transition from being a raw material exporter to a global leader in cocoa processing and manufacturing.
Watch the full episode to learn more about the way forward, and don’t forget to subscribe to PanaGenius TV for more thought-provoking conversations and stories that matter to Africa and the Black community.