Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has called on African countries to urgently shift from being raw cocoa exporters to becoming major players in chocolate manufacturing and other high-value segments of the global cocoa industry.
Speaking at the maiden Africa Cocoa Finance & Investment Forum (ACFIF 2026) held at the London Stock Exchange, he said Africa must reposition itself within the cocoa value chain to ensure that more of the wealth generated from its resources stays on the continent.
He pointed out that although Africa produces about 70 percent of the world’s cocoa beans, it contributes less than 20 percent to global cocoa processing and accounts for under 2 percent of finished chocolate production.
According to him, this imbalance continues to deprive producing countries of the real economic benefits of their dominant role in global cocoa supply.
“The real value is not in exporting raw beans, but in chocolate manufacturing, branding, innovation, and investment in the entire value chain,” he said, adding that African producers currently capture only a small fraction of total industry earnings.
Mr Kufuor described the forum as an important platform for addressing structural challenges in the cocoa sector by bringing together investors, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to support industrial growth across Africa.
He also reflected on Ghana’s own cocoa development efforts, citing improvements in production, farmer incentives, disease control measures, and increased local processing capacity as examples of progress.
However, he stressed that isolated national efforts are not enough, arguing that Africa needs a coordinated continental strategy focused on large-scale investment, industrial expansion, and value addition.
He said such a transformation would enable cocoa-producing countries to move beyond dependence on raw exports and take a stronger position in the global chocolate economy.
