The European Cocoa Association (ECA) is supporting a Brussels forum that aims to connect West African cocoa suppliers directly with European buyers and investors ahead of the EU’s deforestation regulation taking effect for large and medium-sized operators.
The EU–Nigeria Agribusiness Platform (EUNAP) will convene the meeting on 29 October at the Sofitel Brussels Hotel, alongside the Nigeria–Belgium–Luxembourg Business Forum. ECA has confirmed its support, giving the event a link to the traders, processors and industrial chocolate makers it represents.
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EUNAP plans structured meetings between European companies and cocoa exporters, traders and cooperatives from Nigeria, with outreach to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Separate sessions are intended to bring governments, EU institutions and financiers into discussions about traceability, farm renewal and processing investment.
The ICCO estimates Nigeria produced 330,000 tonnes of cocoa beans in the 2024-25 season, with EU countries importing almost 206,000 tonnes of Nigerian beans in 2025,
Anthony Myers
In Time for EUDR
The timing matters. The EU says its deforestation regulation will apply to large and medium-sized operators from 30 December 2026. Cocoa is among the commodities covered. European buyers therefore need sourcing records that support their due diligence, while suppliers need to show where their beans were grown and how they moved through the supply chain.
ECA’s involvement gives the forum commercial weight. According to the association’s current figures, its 63 member companies account for about 90% of European cocoa-bean grinding and 85% of European industrial chocolate production. The question for the meeting is whether access to those companies can lead to workable sourcing and investment partnerships.
Nigeria's Investment Agenda
Nigeria’s proposed investment agenda includes digital traceability, new cocoa-processing capacity, an origin brand and rehabilitation of ageing smallholder farms. The concept notes put the traceability proposal at €20 million to map 400,000 farm parcels across Ondo, Cross River, Edo and Osun states. Those figures describe a project seeking partners, not money already secured.
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Organisers also want to link West African producing areas with European cocoa-processing regions through longer-term regional partnerships. That could give discussions about replanting and supply security a route beyond individual buyer meetings. No European regional counterparts or agreements have yet been named.
For ECA, the stated role is to support the forum and help connect it with industry. Delivery will depend on what buyers, governments and financiers commit after the Brussels meeting.
- For more details on the Forum follow this link.