By Daily Democrat News Desk
A new economic revolution is brewing in Africa’s cocoa industry as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Ransford A. Abbey, has unveiled an ambitious strategy to wrest control of the global cocoa market from foreign buyers and ensure Africa finally reaps the true value of its cocoa wealth.
Speaking at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 in Abuja, Nigeria, Dr. Abbey called on both of the Government of Nigeria and Cameroon to join Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in forming a powerful cocoa alliance that would control about 75 percent of the world’s cocoa production, giving Africa the leverage to determine cocoa prices and accelerate value addition on the continent.
Addressing delegates under the theme, “Moving Beyond the Bean: Unifying Africa for Value Addition and Price Sovereignty,” Dr. Abbey lamented that although West Africa produces between 75 and 77 percent of the world’s cocoa beans, yet the continent earns less than 10 percent of the wealth generated by the multi-billion-dollar global chocolate industry.
“For decades, Africa has exported raw cocoa and imported expensive finished chocolate products, leaving our farmers with poverty while others enjoy the profits,” he declared. “That cycle must end. We must stop exporting raw poverty and begin creating refined wealth here in Africa.”
In one of the most significant policy announcements in COCOBOD’s history, Dr. Abbey revealed that Ghana will abandon its 79-year-old dependence on offshore syndicated loans beginning with the 2026/27 cocoa season.
The landmark decision, he explained, would free COCOBOD from restrictive financing arrangements that have compelled Ghana to commit large volumes of cocoa beans to foreign buyers long before harvest.
Under the new domestic financing model, COCOBOD will have greater flexibility to supply cocoa beans directly to local processing factories, ensuring increased access to raw materials and helping government achieve its target of processing at least 50 percent of Ghana’s cocoa locally.
“We are moving away from restrictive offshore syndicated loans and funding regimes that have existed for nearly eight decades,” Dr. Abbey stressed. “This will allow us to sell cocoa directly to local processors, increase capacity utilization and create more value and jobs within Ghana.”
The COCOBOD Chief further disclosed that the proposed alliance builds on the strengthened cooperation between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, following the recent high-level presidential meeting in Abidjan where President John Dramani Mahama and President Alassane Ouattara harmonised cocoa pricing policies.
According to Dr. Abbey, the two leaders will soon engage Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Cameroonian President Paul Biya to forge a historic four-country cocoa pact capable of transforming the global cocoa trade.
He argued that by coordinating production calendars, marketing strategies and supply management, African cocoa-producing nations would prevent international buyers from manipulating prices through divide-and-rule tactics.
“For too long, buyers have played our countries against each other to suppress prices,” he warned. “But united, Africa can dictate the direction of the cocoa market and demand fair compensation for our farmers.”
Dr. Abbey also criticised what he described as increasingly stringent sustainability regulations imposed by Western markets, insisting that a united African cocoa bloc would possess the bargaining power needed to negotiate fairer trading conditions.
He announced that Ghana would take this message of cocoa sovereignty to the global stage when it hosts the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in Accra in March 2027.
Concluding his address, Dr. Abbey delivered a powerful message to the international community.
“The future of millions of hardworking cocoa farmers depends on the decisions we make today. We do not seek charity, rather we demand equity, fairness and our rightful share of the wealth our cocoa creates,” he declared to thunderous applause.
