As Nestle, Ferrero and other chocolate producers are backing European Union (EU)’s anti-deforestation law, Nigeria cocoa merchants have said that over $770 million (N1.16 trillion) cocoa industry would be at risk of rejection in the global market.
With the country’s aim to increase its cocoa production from 340,000 metric tonnes recorded in 2022 to 500,000 metric tonnes in 2025, compliance with these regulations is crucial to maintain market access and capitalise on export opportunities.
Therefore, the President of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Adeola Adegoke, is seeking for delay in the implementation of the law to December 2025 from December 2024.
According to him, the country contributes 6.5 per cent to global cocoa production, adding that Nigeria cocoa export revenue had increased by 279 per cent.
The EU Deforestation Regulation was put in place to drive cocoa and chocolate in European market by helping to reduce risk associated with the commodity.
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a regulation aimed at ensuring that the products that EU citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide.
Worried by the law, the National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) has urged the Federal Government to proactively engage with the EU to conduct a comprehensive preparedness assessment as it was done for Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon in order to guide stakeholders in aligning the industry with EUDR standards.
Adegoke added that despite the new soaring price of the beans in the global market, cocoa farmers in the country were still penury due to deregulation of cocoa sector.
Recall that the NCMC) to convene a meeting of stakeholders in the sector in Abuja to strategize how to boost Nigeria’s cocoa production and address the gap to ensure the country complies with EU standards.
The committee was inaugurated by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and comprises of members that cut across all the sectors in the cocoa value chain.
The Executive Director of the Committee, Patrick Adebola, explained that government and all stakeholders were putting heads together on the EUDR, noting that if Nigeria failed to comply with the standards, the country may no longer be able to export cocoa beans and products to Europe, the biggest market for the country.
Adebola noted that Nigeria exported about 70 per cent of cocoa beans to Europe, stressing that failure to meet the standards set would significantly impact the value chain.
According to him, “the key issue that we are discussing in this meeting is the issue of the EUDR regulation on our cocoa that will come into force in December 2024.
If we are found not to be compliant, it means our cocoa beans may not be accepted to be sold in European markets.”
Although, he said that the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) was providing support to enable Nigeria comply with the standards, however, he complained that EUDR was unfair and stringent as the organisation did not consult widely with exporting countries before drafting such regulation.
Adebola stressed the regulation also prohibited cocoa planted and harvested through child labour, saying that said its definition of child labour may not apply to Nigerian context.
He added: “One of the contentious issues in this regulation is that they don’t want our cocoa beans that are being harvested from deforested area because deforestation leads to environmental degradation; even though we are arguing with them that when you cut down a tree and plant cocoa tree that is not deforestation but we were not given an opportunity to discuss before the EU regulation.
“We feel these regulations are very stringent and Nigeria will need a lot of help in order for us to to comply with this stringent regulation.
We see it as being unfair and we felt that countries that are involved were not really fully engaged before this EUDR was rolled out.”
According to him, only about 50 per cent of the exporting countries would be able to comply with this stringent regulation before the deadline of December 2024.
Also, the National President of Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Mufutau Abolarinwa, said that the meeting also sought to explore ways to increase cocoa production in addition to meeting set standards for export.
He urged government to provide more incentives, particularly to subsidise expensive herbicides and chemicals, urging wants governments to bring back the waiver on hydro-carbon jute bags which were necessary for export.