China has completed construction on its largest cocoa bean processing facility in Ivory Coast. The development is expected to reshape the global cocoa trade and impact US and European chocolate makers.
The factory, built by Chinese firm China Light Industry Nanning Design Engineering, is located in Abidjan, the country’s largest city and former capital. It is the company’s second facility in Ivory Coast, the first being in the port city of San-Pédro.
According to a Chinese agency, China invested $200 million in the new facility, which will be repaid in cocoa beans. Under the agreement, 40 percent of cocoa production from both facilities will be sent to China as part of the repayment agreement.
Changing Cocoa Trade Dynamics
Ivory Coast, the world’s leading cocoa producer, supplies more than 2 million tons of cocoa annually; This equates to around 40% of global cocoa production. Cocoa beans are the country’s most valuable export, generating $3.33 billion in revenue in 2022. Almost half of its exports went to the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States.
But the new regulation means a significant portion of Ivory Coast’s cocoa will now be directed to China, leaving U.S. and European chocolate makers facing tighter supplies.
“Buyers everywhere are struggling to secure cocoa supplies, and if 50,000 metric tons are now going to China instead of Europe or North America, chocolate makers in those regions will feel the loss,” said Kristy Leissle, founder and CEO of African Cocoa Marketplace.
Each of the newly built cocoa facilities in Ivory Coast has an annual processing capacity of 50,000 tons and a total storage capacity of up to 300,000 tons, further cementing China’s place in the global cocoa market.