West Africa produces about 65% of the world’s cocoa, but the region continues to capture only a small share of the value generated from finished cocoa products, as most processing and chocolate manufacturing takes place outside the region, particularly in Europe.

This is according to UK-based research and data firm, Fitch Solutions. Contained in a study released by the advisory firm, it reported that the despite region’s longstanding dominance in production and supply of the commodity , it still gains little value from its products such a chocolate amd other finished products.

This is because processing of the commodity into finished products is largely done by the European Union (EU).

“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. 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,” the firm said.

According to the firm, the four major West African cocoa-producing countries, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, jointly account for roughly 70% of global cocoa production but capture only about 6% of the value of a finished chocolate bar.

Fitch Solutions said data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) showed that cocoa beans accounted for a significant share of exports across Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria in 2025, ranging from 5% in Nigeria to 30% in Cameroon.

By comparison, processed and semi-processed cocoa products accounted for much smaller shares of exports, averaging 5% for cocoa paste, 4% for cocoa butter and just 1% for cocoa powder, while chocolate exports remained negligible across the four markets.

The firm said the situation highlights the need for greater domestic processing if West African countries are to capture more value from the cocoa they produce.

“While domestic processing offers one avenue for capturing greater value,” Fitch Solutions said, adding that sustainability and traceability requirements are also expected to become increasingly important in shaping cocoa export flows, particularly to the European Union.

The EU remains a major destination for cocoa from West Africa and has consistently accounted for roughly two-thirds of global chocolate exports over the past five years, underscoring the extent to which value addition in the cocoa supply chain continues to occur outside producing countries.

Consequently, Fitch has cautioned West Africa to process its produce citing that it may no longer be able to rely heavily on exporting raw cocoa beans to other countries for processing.

Given that many countries have began processsing their own cocoa coupled with the many rules by the EU in recent times.