Nigeria’s cocoa bean exports to the United States rose sharply by 554 per cent to $142m in 2025, up from $21.7m recorded in 2024, according to the United States Mission in Nigeria.
The increase highlights the growing demand for Nigerian cocoa in the international market and the potential for the country to earn more foreign exchange from the agricultural commodity.
The US Mission disclosed the figures in a social media post on Tuesday, noting that the export value had risen significantly within a year.
“This is just to US, we have not talked about Europe, China, India etc. Nigeria is rising, position yourself appropriately,” the mission stated.
The development comes amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government to transform Nigeria’s cocoa industry by encouraging local processing, industrialisation and value addition.
In July, President Bola Tinubu announced plans to end the export of raw cocoa beans, arguing that Nigeria should no longer ship unprocessed agricultural produce abroad while importing finished products such as chocolate.
The President said the country must move away from exporting raw commodities without capturing their full economic value, stressing the need to develop domestic industries, create jobs, attract investments and boost foreign exchange earnings.
Represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 in Abuja, Tinubu reiterated the government’s commitment to building a stronger cocoa value chain through local processing and manufacturing.
The summit, themed ‘From Bean to Brand: The Bean in My Hand, The Brand in Our Future’, brought together ministers, state governors, development partners, financiers, cocoa-producing countries and other industry stakeholders to unveil a new roadmap for Africa’s cocoa industry.
Speaking at the event, Kyari said Africa produces about 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa but earns only a small share of the more than $130bn global chocolate industry.
He attributed the disparity to the fact that much of the processing, branding and manufacturing of cocoa products takes place outside the continent, leaving producing countries with limited economic benefits despite their significant contribution to global supply.
According to the minister, the government’s push for local value addition is aimed at reversing this trend by ensuring that a greater share of the wealth generated from cocoa is retained within Nigeria.
Akinlotan is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over eight years of experience reporting on politics, social justice, motoring, railways, and aviation. His work focuses on accountability, public interest, and social change, producing stories that inspire reform and amplify underrepresented voices. Akinlotan’s reporting reflects extensive newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a strong commitment to accurate, impact-driven journalism.