A look at financing opportunities for primary cocoa processing in Côte d’Ivoire
The "Financing opportunities for cocoa processing in Côte d’Ivoire" publication cover.
©FAO
Côte d’Ivoire - the world’s largest cocoa producer and processor – aims to process 80 percent of its cocoa beans locally by 2030.
The European Union, Côte d'Ivoire's leading trading partner, asked the FAO Investment Centre for assistance in estimating the country’s current and potential primary cocoa processing capacity, identifying investment and financing needs, and recommending practical measures to strengthen access to finance in the sector.
Findings from this study “Financing opportunities for cocoa processing in Côte d’Ivoire” have just been published.
The study’s authors note that the current primary processing capacity of the 15 companies operating in Côte d’Ivoire during the 2024/25 season stands at nearly 1 million tonnes. This represents about EUR 1 billion of capital expenditure (CAPEX) invested in building processing plants.
Companies have invested in local processing because it provides secure access to Ivorian beans. Also, transporting semi-finished products is more efficient, and local processing enables better traceability.
According to the study, investment projects currently underway could add between 180 000 and 344 000 tonnes of processing capacity to reach 1.4 million tonnes total. That would be equivalent to 75 percent of the cocoa production from the 2023/24 season.
While this shows the sector’s attractiveness and effectiveness of Ivorian authorities’ industrial policy, there is a risk of overcapacity during the mid-crop.
Processing plants also need to have access to the right financing to source enough cocoa beans. The estimated peak working capital needs of the entire Ivorian cocoa sector could rise to EUR 4.3 billion in December 2025. By comparison, the peak working capital needs of the sector reached EUR 2.8 billion in 2024/25 and EUR 1.5 billion in 2023/24.
High prices are excellent news for Ivorian cocoa producers, assuming buyers of the beans, especially cocoa processors, have access to enough liquidity to purchase them.
But local banks prefer to finance the export of beans because of the shorter financing cycle, the limited market transparency for semi-finished products, and the perception that beans are more liquid collateral. It is also easier to calculate the margins of bean exporters versus processors.
To finance the additional working capital needs for primary processing, the study recommends that development banks:
- Establish dedicated credit lines to Ivorian banks specifically for the cocoa sector
- Provide working capital financing directly to processors established in Cote d’Ivoire and/or to their clients/off-takers
- Invest in impact investment funds equipped to finance the working capital needs of processors and their suppliers (farmers’ cooperatives)
- Strengthen the expertise and knowledge of local banks in cocoa processing via technical assistance
- Promote the digitalization of financial transactions for bean purchases in production areas
Download the full report in English / French.
In related work, FAO Investment Centre is partnering with the European Union, national governments and other partners to build a fairer, greener and more sustainable cocoa sector in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
The Sustainable Cocoa Initiative aims to promote sustainable cocoa production by addressing economic, social and environmental challenges in key cocoa-producing countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon. Its main objectives are to (i) ensure a decent living income for cocoa farmers recognising the cost of sustainable production, (ii) combat child labour in cocoa value chains and (iii) strengthen forest protection and restoration in cocoa-producing regions. It promotes responsible business conduct in the cocoa sector, agroforestry practices, and supports the local primary processing of cocoa beans through private investments.
This initiative is being implemented through a range of Team Europe programmes as part of the Global Gateway strategy. Building on the existing cooperation in the cocoa sector, the EU is also engaging with key cocoa producing countries to strengthen their investment climate through Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreements.
