This is a Capacity Problem.
Not just Factory Capacity, but...
Capital,
Power,
Logistics,
Technology,
Quality-Control,
and Market-access Capacity.
Turning Cocoa Beans into Chocolate is not as simple as buying a Machine.
You need...
reliable Electricity,
Food-grade Processing Facilities,
Packaging Plants,
Skilled Manpower,
Quality Certification,
Distribution Networks,
Branding,
and, access to Global Retail Shelves.
(I understand this because I'm building a Meat Production Ecosystem)
The Chocolate Factories are not earning more simply because they process Cocoa.
They earn more because they control the entire Value Chain...
...from Processing to Branding to Distribution.
Nigeria's Challenge is not that we don't know Chocolate is worth more than Cocoa Beans.
Many people know.
The Challenge is building the Industrial Ecosystem required to compete at every Stage of the Chain.
Value Addition is the Result of deliberate Investment in Industrial Capacity...
...not adding 6,000,000 new Farmers.
...not empowering 7,000 Women in Agriculture.
...not given 5 Bags of Fertilizer to Farmers.
...not Photoshoot & talking to Media.
...not Intervention Programmes designed around Headlines.
Until we go Industrial path, as an Individual Businesses & Government...
...we'll keep exporting Raw Materials,
...we'll keep importing Survival,
...and, we'll keep losing the largest Margin to those that do.
πΆ πΆ πΆ
Nigeria sells raw cocoa at $8,000 a tonne. Processed into butter it earns $48,000. Made into chocolate it earns $240,000. 30 times the money, yet Nigeria is still choosing $8,000.