East Africa: Liberia Targets Global Cocoa Market

-As LACRA explores Ivorian success model.

The Acting Director General of the Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), Hon. Dan Saryee, alongside Deputy for Operations and Technical Services, Apha Gongolee, has departed Liberia for an exploratory mission to the Republic of Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer.

The high-level visit, which runs until Saturday, September 20, aims to deepen LACRA’s understanding of the Ivorian cocoa sector, an industry valued at over $3.3 billion in exports in 2023 alone, and explore opportunities for building sustainable partnerships that could benefit Liberia’s cocoa farmers.

During their mission, Acting DG Saryee and Deputy Gongolee are expected to engage with several key institutions, including the Ivorian Coffee and Cocoa Regulatory Authority (CCC), the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF), and the Rainforest Alliance. They will also tour cocoa farms, fermentation centers, packaging factories, cooperatives, and jute bag production facilities to gain firsthand insights into sustainable practices and advanced post-harvest processes.

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“This mission is about learning from the best and tailoring that knowledge to strengthen Liberia’s cocoa value chain,” a LACRA official said, highlighting the broader goal of enhancing farmer livelihoods and boosting export competitiveness.

The visit aligns with the new LACRA administration’s agenda to decentralize operations and provide direct support to cocoa farmers. Current reforms include:

Establishing regional warehouses to address chronic storage challenges. Introducing practical farmer training on post-harvest techniques such as fermentation and drying. Constructing solar dryers in major cocoa-producing regions to improve bean quality for export.

These interventions, according to LACRA, are designed to position Liberia’s cocoa industry on a path toward both quality improvement and global market compliance.

A critical part of LACRA’s strategy is addressing the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR), which require exporters to prove that agricultural products entering the EU market, including cocoa, are not linked to deforestation after December 31, 2020.

To meet this requirement, LACRA is developing a traceability system to track cocoa beans from farm to port, ensuring Liberian cocoa can access the lucrative EU market.

Observers say the exploratory mission to Ivory Coast, long recognized as a global leader in cocoa production, could be pivotal for Liberia as it seeks to transform its cocoa sector into a competitive and sustainable driver of rural development.