Nigeria’s cocoa industry has recorded a historic leap, with exports surging to ₦1.2 trillion in the last quarter of 2024, representing a 606% increase from ₦171 billion in the same period the previous year. The Presidency says cocoa now makes up 29% of the nation’s agricultural exports and 5.6% of total non-oil exports.
Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, hailed the performance as a testament to cocoa’s role as a strategic driver of economic transformation and a pillar of Nigeria’s green economy agenda.
The growth aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to diversify the economy away from oil dependence through investments in high-value, sustainable agriculture.
Meanwhile, stakeholders are ramping up preparations to meet the European Union’s December 2025 Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) deadline, which requires all cocoa imports into the EU to be deforestation free. Compliance efforts include digital traceability systems, data sovereignty frameworks, and the promotion of climate smart farming practices to protect forests and secure market access.
Industry experts say meeting these standards will not only safeguard Nigeria’s position in the global cocoa market but also open new opportunities for local processing, value addition, and job creation.