Africa Must Control Global Cocoa Economy, COFAAA Leader Declares

Africa must stop exporting raw cocoa beans and take control of the global cocoa economy by setting its own prices and building local processing industries, the Global President of the Cocoa Farmers Alliance Association of Africa (COFAAA) declared at the African Cocoa Summit and Awards 2025 at the University of Ghana, Accra.

Comrade Adeola Adegoke told delegates at the two-day summit, organized by COFAAA in partnership with the Cocoa Roundtable Initiative (CORI), that the continent’s continued reliance on exporting raw beans while importing finished chocolate represents an unsustainable model that enriches foreign processors while keeping millions of African farmers in poverty.

Speaking on the theme “Building Sustainable Africa Cocoa Ecosystem: Unlocking Economic Potentials, Driving Inclusive Growth,” Adegoke emphasized that Africa produces 70% of the world’s cocoa yet receives less than 10% of the wealth it generates. That imbalance isn’t just economic, it’s moral, he argued. The time has come for Africa to transition from price taker to price maker.

He urged producing countries to invest in domestic processing industries capable of converting raw beans into finished cocoa products. Such a transformation could generate billions in additional export revenue, create thousands of rural jobs, and reduce the continent’s vulnerability to volatile global commodity prices.

The current practice of exporting 100% raw beans and importing finished cocoa products for African consumption must end, Adegoke declared. Africa’s cocoa economy needs to be industrialized for Africans, by Africans, he stressed.

Adegoke warned that without bold structural reforms, Africa risks losing its global leadership position to emerging producers like Ecuador and Brazil, which are rapidly expanding their local processing capacity. With coordinated policy, investment, and regional collaboration, he projected that Africa’s cocoa industry could grow into a $200 billion sector, anchored on processing, fair pricing, and sustainability.

Delegates at the summit identified three key reform priorities: African-led cocoa policy and governance to ensure global standards and trade contracts reflect African realities; local processing and industrialization through government investment, tax incentives, and support for domestic consumption; and farmer welfare and sustainability by addressing climate change effects, deforestation, aging farms, and poor farmer incomes to guarantee long-term sector viability.

Mr. Nana Yaw Reuben Jr., COFAAA’s Country Director for Ghana, stressed that global decisions on cocoa can no longer be made outside the continent. You cannot hold cocoa talks in Europe and expect Africa to benefit fully, he said. Cocoa must be recognized as an African economic asset, not a European commodity.

Beyond pricing issues, Adegoke emphasized that inclusion and sustainability are central to the sector’s long-term competitiveness, noting that sustainable cocoa cannot be built when the farmers who grow it are hungry. He urged for women and youth to be placed at the heart of reform efforts.

Women contribute up to 70% of labour on cocoa farms but own only a fraction of the land, Adegoke noted, calling for gender-responsive policies and youth-focused investment in technology and agribusiness.

In his closing remarks, Adegoke unveiled COFAAA’s PPC Framework, a cooperative model integrating Producing, Processing, and Consuming countries, designed to retain more value within Africa’s cocoa value chain and ensure the continent’s farmers finally reap the full rewards of their labour.

The event culminated with the African Cocoa Awards, celebrating exemplary institutions and corporate cocoa actors that have advanced the continent’s cocoa development agenda. Ghana’s COCOBOD, Nigeria’s NCMC, Cameroon’s ONCC and Côte d’Ivoire’s Conseil du Café-Cacao were honored with the Africa Cocoa Institution Development Champion Award for their leadership and innovation in promoting sustainable cocoa policies despite prevailing challenges in the industry.

The summit comes amid growing unease over Africa’s declining share of value in the global chocolate economy, even as international cocoa prices have surged to record highs, topping $5,500 per tonne earlier this year. Despite price increases on global markets, farmers’ incomes haven’t seen proportional increases, highlighting the urgent need for structural reform in how the cocoa economy operates.