The National President of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Moruf Abolarinwa, has said that despite various challenges facing the cocoa industry, Cocoa is still Nigeria’s number one non-crude oil foreign exchange earning commodity.
CAN president disclosed this while reacting to alleged ban of Nigeria cocoa beans by Europe, explaining that there is no such decision by EU countries or any country whatsoever and that there is no time that the country was in the red list of any cocoa importing or consuming country.
Nigeria is a leading player in the global cocoa industry, covering 6.5% share of world production as the fourth largest producer after Ivory Coast, Indonesia and Ghana, and the third largest exporter, after Ivory Coast and Ghana.
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CAN was established in 1986 as the umbrella body for all cocoa stakeholders to ensure sustainability and development of the Nigerian cocoa industry from research, through farming, input provision, trade, export, processing, manufacture and consumption.
According to Abolarinwa, Nigeria currently produces over 270,000 metric tonnes of cocoa and nearly 80 per cent is exported as beans, adding that the contribution of the crop to the nation’s economy exceeds N400billion per annum from sale of cocoa beans and secondary products.
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Commenting on the alleged ban, he said such issue as not come from Nigeria to the Council of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), which discusses debates and agrees upon all international regulations for implementation on cocoa of which he is a member.
He disclosed that truly, there had been incidences of poor, adulterated and sometimes abused of pesticides in cocoa production, but things are improving with regular interaction with the association working with Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Crop Life Nigeria, importers, distributors and capacity building among farmers on best agricultural practices on cocoa.
