Ghana’s cocoa sector is coming off a notably large harvest, creating both opportunities and pressing questions about how to use increased volumes to advance local value addition and manage sector financing. A bumper crop strengthens Ghana’s raw export position and can boost farmer incomes if domestic pricing and premiums are handled well. Policymakers and industry ...

Ashanti Region, Ghana Fairtrade Africa is calling for bold policy reforms to revitalize cocoa farming by placing young people at the heart of the industry’s future. At a stakeholder forum held in Ghana’s Ashanti Region, the organization urged government and private sector leaders to rethink how land, finance, and technology are made accessible to the ...

By Brandon Moss | AgriFocus Africa In a historic shift, Nigeria’s cocoa industry has overtaken crude oil as the country’s leading export to Belgium, signaling a profound realignment in West Africa’s trade dynamics. According to the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Pieter Leenknegt, cocoa became Nigeria’s top export to Belgium in 2024—a first in recent memory ...

By Brandon Moss/Editor AgriFocus Africa The Bitter Truth Behind Sweet Profits Africa grows more than 70% of the world’s cocoa, yet reaps only a fraction of the revenue from the global chocolate industry, currently worth over $130 billion. The bulk of African cocoa is exported raw—leaving countries like Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire locked into low-value ...

Climate change and biodiversity loss are crippling agricultural production in Africa, a key exporter of staples such as cocoa, coffee, and maize, putting Europe’s food supply at risk. According to a report by UK-based Foresight Transitions, over half of EU food imports, including cocoa and coffee, come from countries that lack the resources to adapt to climate change. Many ...

(FILES) Detail of recently extracted cocoa beans in a farm in Asikasu on December 19, 2020. Despite government efforts to stabilize the sector and recent soaring global cocoa prices, many Ghana farmers say they feel abandoned and have turned to illicit trade to survive in the world’s No. 2 producer. Ghana is emerging from one ...

While known for its forestry and animal life, cocoa is a major part of Ghana’s economy. With a multidimensional poverty rate of 24.6%, around 850,000 farms in the region participate in harvesting and producing cocoa. The crop brings about $2 billion in foreign exchange and has become a staple in many items like chocolate. Unfortunately, ...

Agricultural exports from Central African countries (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and CAR) saw a significant 29.5% price increase between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, according to the Composite Commodity Price Index (CCPI) from the Central Bank of Central African States (BEAC). This upswing is attributed to improved prices for commodities such as cocoa and rubber ...