The Federal Government has dismissed reports claiming it intends to ban the export of raw cocoa beans, reaffirming that its policy is centred on boosting value addition within Nigeria’s cocoa sector rather than restricting exports.
This clarification was made in a statement released by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, over the weekend.
Kyari explained that the government’s priority is to encourage increased local processing of cocoa into higher-value products such as cocoa butter, cocoa powder and chocolate, while allowing the export of raw cocoa beans to continue as the country’s processing capacity grows.
According to him, the ministry has observed some reports and public discussions suggesting that the Federal Government plans to ban raw cocoa bean exports, but he emphasised that such claims are inaccurate and do not represent the government’s policy.