There is huge market potential for Ghana’s chocolate, as the 170 million-strong Nigerian market has proven to be the largest export market of both Ghanaian made chocolate and its related products, including sweetened cocoa powder.

Exports of the products to the Nigerian market under HS code of 1806 stood at US$ 9.4 million, representing 47.2 percent of the total products imported by Nigeria in 2017 under the same heading.

A competitor analysis by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) indicates that, between 2013 and 2017, Ghana’s exports of chocolate and related products to Nigeria averagely had an annual growth rate of about 12 percent. However, the growth between 2016 and 2017 was 135 percent indicating a sharp surge in export sales.

The closest competitors to Ghana in the Nigerian market in relation to chocolate and related products are Turkey, the Netherlands, India and China with average growth rates between 2013-2017 of 5 percent, -10 percent, 149 percent and -22 percent respectively.

Other Markets

Other market destinations for Ghana’s chocolate in 2017 were the Netherlands (US$ 7.190m), Algeria (US$ 3.355m), and USA (US$2.27m) amongst other countries.

In 2017, exports of chocolate and other related products from West Africa to the world were mainly undertaken by la Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea and smaller quantities from Togo, Nigeria, Benin, Niger and Mali. However, there were no major regional competitors in the Nigerian market, except Cameroon which exported just about US$ 0.455m in 2017.

Global demand for chocolate and related products stood at US$ 27.21bn in 2017, indicating the opportunities in the confectionery sector

The top five global exporters of chocolate in 2017 were Germany (USD 4.8bn), Belgium (USD 3.03bn), Italy (USD 1.97bn), the Netherlands (USD 1.93bn), and the USA (USD 1.66bn).

Statistics depicting the retail consumption of chocolate confectionery worldwide shows that in 2015/2016, about 7.3 million tons of retail chocolate confectionery was consumed, with consumption expected to reach approximately 7.7 million tons by 2018/2019.

Global retail sales of chocolate reached approximately 101 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, with the U.S. accounting for the largest portion of chocolate confectionary sales worldwide in that year.