Until 1976, Ghana was the world’s largest cocoa producer, with an average annual output of 410,000 tonnes. However, Ghana lost this lead when production fell to 277,000 tonnes in 1997, allowing Côte d'Ivoire and Brazil to overtake.
Since 1977, Côte d'Ivoire has led global cocoa production, increasing its output by 634%.
Nigeria’s cocoa production peaked at 485,000 tonnes in 2006, consistently ranking among the top ten producers.