Cross River State, Nigeria’s second-largest cocoa grower, said it will sell five government-owned farms in a bid to boost production of the commodity with private investment.
Prospective investors have until May 19 to bid on the cocoa farms, which the government expects to sell before the end of next year, Deve Amiye, executive secretary of the Cross River State Council on Privatization, said today by telephone from Calabar, the state capital.
The farms cover 12,129 hectares (29,971 acres) and produced about 50,000 metric tons annually, Amiye said.
Nigeria, the world’s fourth-largest cocoa producer, probably will see output jump 10 percent in 2013-2014 season after higher prices last year lead to planting of more disease-resistant plants, the Cocoa Association of Nigeria said Jan 24. The nation plans to double production to 500,000 tons by next year, Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina, minister of agriculture and natural resources, said June 6.
The main harvest begins in October and ends in January, while a smaller crop is collected from March through June.
West Africa is the world’s largest growing region, led by top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana.Indonesia is the third-largest.
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