TITLE:
Challenges and Perspectives of Local Cocoa Transformation in Côte d’Ivoire: A Case Study on the Cocoa Industry in Different Production Areas
AUTHORS:
Aya Kan Christiane Kadio
KEYWORDS:
Cocoa Supply Chain, Local Processing, Challenges, Côte d’Ivoire
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.11 No.6,
November
9,
2023
ABSTRACT: Since independence in 1960 to the present day, Côte
d’Ivoire’s economic model has been primarily based on agriculture, particularly
the cocoa sector. Indeed, Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s leading cocoa producer,
with an estimated production of over 2.25 million tons in 2021. However, nearly
half of the raw cocoa beans are exported, while the rest are processed into
semi-finished products. This naturally results in a significant loss of value
for the sector, as it loses out on added value in the upstream production
chain. The development of the local cocoa industry would be a major step
towards the government’s goal of becoming an emerging country by 2030. In this
regard, the Ivorian government is considering the establishment of three new
industrial units with the aim of locally processing the entire cocoa production
of the country by 2030. This article aims to explore the challenges and
prospects of local cocoa processing in Côte d’Ivoire. To this end, our study
focused on six small local cocoa processing units located in the cities of
Daloa, Issia, Bouaflé, Oumé, and Abidjan. We employed a qualitative method for
the exploratory nature of our research, which involved the use of an interview
guide and conducting semi-structured interviews with the leaders of the studied
facilities. The results obtained highlight the significant role that small
local cocoa processing units can play, as well as the numerous challenges they
face, such as obtaining financing, acquiring more efficient equipment,
production capacity, and the lack of Ivorian culture in chocolate consumption.