NEPC partners Imo Govt to enhance cocoa production, exportation
NEPC partners Imo Govt to enhance cocoa production, exportation
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says it is partnering with the Imo State Government to enhance the production and exportation of cocoa.
The NEPC’s Trade Promotion Advisor in Imo, Mr Anthony Ajuruchi, made this known at a sensitisation workshop on global best practices in cocoa production and processing for export in Owerri on Thursday.
Ajuruchi, who spoke on the theme: “Optimising the potentials of cocoa production for export”, said the country exported 500 million dollars worth of cocoa beans in 2021.
He urged exporters in the country to take advantage of the huge potential available in export destinations such as Brazil, China, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Malaysia, Vietnam, the U.S. and UK.
In his words, “There are huge potentials in value-added cocoa products, with 12 billion dollars global worth.
“So, it will be necessary for us to increase our share of the global production for a rightful place in the global market.
“We need to ensure that Imo cocoa producers get it right.
“They need to join their counterparts in producing high-quality cocoa beans for value addition and wealth generation,’’ Ajuruchi said.
In a remark, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Barthy Okorochukwu, said the State Government was ready to partner with the NEPC “for optimal production, processing and exportation of cocoa”.
Okorochukwu urged Imo people to focus more on the production of cocoa than consumption.
Also, the Chairman, Imo Chapter of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Mr Innocent Dike, thanked the NEPC for organising the workshop.
Dike said that the association hoped to raise 200,000 capacity improved cocoa nurseries by November.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria and stakeholders in the state’s agricultural sector.
