Chief Executive Officer of the Cocoa Marketing Company of Ghana (CMC), Dr Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, has made a strong and urgent case for Africa to fundamentally restructure its cocoa industry by prioritising integrated agro-industrial value creation, warning that continued reliance on raw cocoa exports is costing the continent billions in lost revenue, jobs, and economic transformation opportunities.
 
Speaking at the 2026 Africa Trade Summit, under the theme “Africa Agribusiness Industry Insights,” Dr Dogbey delivered a keynote address focused on the cocoa sector, describing it as both the backbone of Ghana’s economy and a largely underutilised engine for industrial growth across Africa.
 
“Cocoa is not just a crop. Cocoa is Ghana, and Ghana is cocoa,” he told a packed audience of policymakers, investors, agribusiness leaders, and development partners. “Yet for decades, Africa has exported the bulk of its cocoa in raw form, while others capture the real value through processing, branding, and finished products.”
 
The Cost of Exporting Raw Cocoa
 
Africa produces over 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa, with Ghana recognised globally for the superior quality of its beans. However, Dr Dogbey noted that the overwhelming majority of this cocoa is processed outside the continent into cocoa butter, powder, cocoa mass, chocolate, and other high-value derivatives.
 
According to him, this model deprives producing countries of higher export earnings, industrial jobs, technology transfer, and the opportunity to stabilise incomes in a sector that is increasingly vulnerable to global price volatility.
 
“When we export raw cocoa alone, we export jobs, revenue, and prosperity,” he said. “That model is no longer sustainable.”
 
Project Elevate: CMC’s Value Addition Agenda
 
Dr Dogbey revealed that under his leadership, CMC has launched a strategic value-addition initiative known as Project Elevate, aimed at transforming Ghana’s cocoa commercialisation model through increased processing of cocoa into semi-finished products before export.
 
These include cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and cocoa mass – products that command significantly higher margins and position Ghana more competitively within global cocoa supply chains.
 
“At CMC, we are taking value addition seriously - not as rhetoric, but as strategy,” he emphasised.
 
Jobs, Stability, and Economic Growth
 
Beyond export revenues, the CMC CEO highlighted the broader economic benefits of agro-industrialisation in the cocoa sector. Establishing and expanding processing facilities, he explained, would create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, develop specialised skills among the local workforce, and stimulate allied industries such as logistics, packaging, and manufacturing.
 
He also pointed out that value addition strengthens supply-chain resilience and reduces over-dependence on unpredictable international commodity markets.
 
“With increased revenue from value-added cocoa, we can reinvest in better farming practices, technology, and sustainability—ensuring that farmers benefit, not just traders,” Dr Dogbey said.
 
A Continental Imperative
 
While his focus was on cocoa, Dr Dogbey stressed that the argument for value addition applies across Africa’s entire agribusiness landscape.
 
“Africa must pursue value addition not only in cocoa, but across all agricultural commodities,” he urged. “It is how we grow GDP, diversify exports, improve trade balances, and lift millions out of poverty.”
 
He added that exporting semi-finished products would significantly boost foreign exchange earnings and align with national development priorities, including job creation, poverty alleviation, and sustainable growth.
 
Call for Collaboration
 
Dr Dogbey concluded with a strong call for collaboration between governments, the private sector, and farmers, stressing that value addition cannot succeed without supportive policies, investment incentives, and coordinated execution.