FG To Make N240bn From Cocoa Exports

Indications emerged that Nigeria is expecting more than N240 billion as revenue from the sale of cocoa at the international market before the year runs out.

Though, it was reported recently that Nigeria would see a bumper cocoa harvest in the coming season as late rains have helped boost pod production, a large chunk of cocoa had been exported this year.

We learnt that farmers across Nigeria’s main growing regions were optimistic as some had used the drought to prepare their farms, but some have been stuck with about two-thirds of their produce due to the glut in the world market. The 2016/2017 cocoa seasons, which ended about three months ago, was reported to have recorded a surplus of 720,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans valued at N504.1 billion.

Sayina Riman, President of Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), told cocoa producers to expect output for the new season to hit between 300,000 tonnes and 320,000 tonnes, up from the season just ended, which was blighted by poor weather.

However, the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has predicted that a high production of cocoa beans would be witnessed this year in West Africa. ICCO hinted that Nigeria and Cameroon were reporting good yields from harvests.

ICCO had last year foretold that major West African cocoa producers, including Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast would record a deficit of 147,000 metric tonnes in cocoa production valued at N128.73 billion in the first quarter of the year due to the harmattan haze.

It also predicted that demand for the produce would surpass supply in 2016, as global industry deficit forecast was estimated at 308,000 from an earlier forecast of 113,000 tonnes in its previous report in February 2016.

But these forecasts did not come to pass because of the favourable weather witnessed in West Africa in the second and third quarters of the year.