Cocoa in Ghana
Trade among European and African precolonial nations developed relatively recently in the economic history of the African continent.
Before the European voyages of exploration in the fifteenth century, African rulers and merchants had established trade links with the Mediterranean world, western Asia, and the Indian Ocean region.
The goods Europeans import to Africa in the greatest volumes include cloth, iron, and copper. As trade advances, the Europeans made Africa the number one market for all their raw materials needed for goods consumption. Cocoa is one of the major products exported largely to Europe.
As the highest cocoa-producing country in West Africa, the Ivory Coast leads with the highest percentage export of cocoa beans to Europe, followed by Ghana. Other African countries that export cocoa beans to Europe are Cameroon and Nigeria.
Large tons of cocoa beans leaving the ports of West Africa end up in Switzerland, Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Denmark, and France, where it is used to manufacture chocolate products.
The European Union and its members are responsible for about 50% of the world's cocoa consumption.
The European Union Association is a trade association representing the European sector and grouping the major companies involved in the cocoa bean trade and processing.
Conflicts in Africa can sometimes affect the price of cocoa. For example, the Ivory Coast civil war escalated the price of cocoa to 3.333 dollars per ton, the highest price since the beginning of the year 2010.
But from every angle, it is clear that the cocoa trade between Africa and Europe plays a significant role in enhancing the economy of Europe.