A recent study by a UK-based research firm has ranked Ghana fourth among the countries exporting cocoa beans to Europe between 2021 and 2024, with an average of 53.7% of its cocoa bean exports destined for the European market.

Highlighting that West Africa remains the major contributor to the global cocoa industry, producing about 65% of the world’s cocoa; however, the region continues to earn a relatively small share of the value generated from the final products, a new analysis by UK-based Fitch Solutions has reported.

According to the Research firm, while countries in the region remain major suppliers of cocoa beans, much of the processing and value addition takes place outside West Africa, particularly in Europe; hence, these countries earn little from cocoa.

Continental rankingCameroon recorded the highest average share at 74.7%, followed by Nigeria at 57.8% and Côte d’Ivoire at 57.4%.

Fitch Solutions said the figures highlight West Africa’s strong dependence on the European market, particularly as the European Union remains a major destination for cocoa beans from the region.

The firm noted that increasing domestic processing could help cocoa-producing countries retain more value from their exports. However, it warned that sustainability and traceability requirements are also likely to play a bigger role in determining how cocoa is traded, especially in markets such as the EU.

“We believe the EU’s central role in global cocoa bean imports leaves West African producers highly exposed to developments within the bloc,” Fitch Solutions said.

Despite West Africa’s dominance in production, the firm said the region remains largely concentrated at the upstream end of the cocoa value chain, where farmers grow and export the beans, while much of the higher-value processing happens elsewhere.

“West Africa remains the dominant player in global cocoa markets, accounting for roughly 65% of global production and over half of global cocoa bean exports,” the firm said.

“Despite this, we view the region’s role in the cocoa value chain to be concentrated in upstream production, with much of the value added occurring elsewhere, particularly Europe.”

Data cited by CNBC Africa further shows the gap between production and value capture. Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon together produce roughly 70% of the world’s cocoa but capture only about 6% of the value of a finished chocolate bar.

This means that although West African countries supply the key raw material for chocolate production, they receive a much smaller share of the income generated after the beans are processed into finished products.

Fitch Solutions believes this model of exporting largely raw cocoa beans for processing abroad is likely to face increasing pressure in the years ahead.

West Africa remains focused on cocoa production

The firm said the region’s export figures demonstrate how heavily its cocoa industry remains focused on raw and upstream products, rather than higher-value goods.

While cocoa beans accounted for a significant portion of exports from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria in 2025, the contribution of processed cocoa products was considerably smaller.

According to data from the International Trade Centre (ITC), cocoa beans represented between 5% of exports in Nigeria and 30% in Cameroon, with an average of 18% across the four countries.

Meanwhile, cocoa paste accounted for an average of 5% of exports, cocoa butter 4% and cocoa powder just 1%. Chocolate exports were negligible across the four countries.

Europe, on the other hand, continues to dominate the higher-value end of the industry, accounting for about two-thirds of global chocolate exports over the past five years.