The Federal Government (FG) is collaborating with the Governors of cocoa-producing states and other stakeholders to enable Nigeria benefits from the projected $67.22 billion global cocoa market.
This was announced by a senior official of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), the agency responsible for developing and promoting non-oil exports.
The NEPC official, who pleaded anonymity said, “I am happy to inform you and the public that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has continues to drive the diversification process. Also, efforts to reposition the country’s cocoa export with a view to increasing production and meeting the requisite internationally accepted standards for export into the European Union and the US are gradually yielding results. At present, cocoa is the leading major agricultural export of our nation.
“The commodity is one of the 13 National Strategic Export Products (NSEP) of the Federal Government and very prominent in the NEPC’s Zero Oil Plan initiative. It was integrated into Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017-2020 because the government is serious with its diversification agenda.
“But unless the state government supports the efforts of the Federal Government, the country may lose its global ranking, due to poor production practices and non-compliance to Importing countries’ requirements, among others.”
Why this matters: As stated by the NEPC official and reported by The Nation, the global cocoa market size, which was $43.13 billion in 2018, is expected to be worth $67.22 billion in the next five years. This is due to the high demand from the chocolate confectionery sector which is also expected to rise in the coming years.
Therefore, when the demand for cocoa and chocolate escalates, the chocolate and cocoa market revenue would also see growth. This is why it is important that the government and stakeholders work hand in hand in the industry.
What you should know: Nairametrics had reported when AFEX Commodities Exchange disclosed in its latest report that cocoa was one of the leading non-oil export products alongside Sesame and cashew. This was by the end of the third quarter of 2019.
Cocoa had grossed a total of $30.03 million with Sesame and Cashew grossing $41.19 million and $13.75 million each.