Cote d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producer and exporter, is leveraging the role of the ongoing China International Import Expo (CIIE) to advance the industrial upgrading of its cocoa industry.
Running from Tuesday to Sunday in Shanghai, the 7th CIIE has attracted participants from 152 countries, regions and international organizations, and achieved a new record with 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders attending.
Located in West Africa, Cote d'Ivoire produces over two million tons of cocoa beans annually, accounting for 40 percent of the world's total production. About eight million people in the country work in the cocoa and relevant industries.
Sekongo Lucien is the chairman of the Management Committee for an agricultural cooperative in Biankouma, a town in the western region of the country. The cooperative is participating in this year's CIIE, showcasing its cocoa, coffee and other agricultural products.
"I am going to take a flight to Shanghai, and I appreciate the opportunities provided by the CIIE to foreign enterprises. China is a very welcoming country, and the Chinese are very nice. I hope Chinese partners will come to beautiful Cote d'Ivoire in the future to build a win-win partnership," said Lucien before leaving for Shanghai.
In order to help farmers increase their profits from cocoa planting, Cote d'Ivoire is exploring ways to change the traditional economic model of exporting raw cocoa beans and achieve industrial upgrading.
"We are working with China in the PK24 industrial park to build the largest state-owned cocoa storage warehouse and processing plant in Cote d'Ivoire. We hope to increase cocoa processing capacity and the added value of the cocoa industry to achieve industrial transformation. This is the ambition of Cote d'Ivoire," said Kone Brahima Yves, the General Manager of the Cafe Cacao Council of the country.
In the PK24 industrial park on the outskirts of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire's economic capital, a cocoa processing plant, jointly built by China and Cote d'Ivoire under the Belt and Road Initiative, is set to be completed by the end of this year.
The project will largely enhance the cocoa processing capacity of Cote d'Ivoire, and help the country train more skilled workers to promote the sustainable development of the cocoa industry, according to Tang Chong, the project manager of the Abidjan cocoa processing plant.
"Through this project, we expect to see an increase in domestic (Cote d'Ivoire) processing capacity of about 14 percent. By extending the industrial chain and setting up processing plants, the profits will be increased by 36 percent. The project will employ more than 500 workers after completion, which will be a strong force to improve the local cocoa production capacity," said Tang.
CIIE offers Cote d'Ivoire cocoa opportunity for industrial upgrading
