Nigeria: Cocoa price hits N15m per ton, says CRIN boss

The Executive Director, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, Dr Patrick Adebola, has said that the price of cocoa reached an all-time high of N15 million per ton from its previous price of N1.8 million as at January 2024. Adebola made this known while addressing newsmen on the occasion of CRIN’s 60th anniversary and the hosting of the 18th edition of the Research Institutes Games of Nigeria (RIGAN) by the institute. Adebola attributed the sharp increase in the price of the crop to disease outbreak in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the leading producers of cocoa in the world, a situation that has led to about 40 per cent loss of the crop in the two countries. “Cote d’Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa producing about 2 million metric tons followed by Ghana with 900,000 metric tons. Nigeria is still 300,000 tons. Meanwhile, we have more land and everything than both countries. “As at January this year, a ton of Cocoa used to sell for N1.8 million, the price has risen ...