Africans urged to drink more cocoa.

Cocoa marketeers in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria have embarked upon the promotion of cocoa on a health platform that spells out some new health benefits of the region's famous black bean.

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Cocoa as a health booster is well-known in its foreign markets, but such advantages appear to be overlooked in Africa. Delegates at the Africa Cocoa Summit in Abuja recently identified the markets in their backyards.

"Encouraging the promotion and consumption of cocoa in Africa is the most pragmatic way of reversing the long-term circular decline in real cocoa prices," noted a summit statement. Of concern to delegates was the disclosure that about 20m Africans are engaged in the cocoa industry, and the continent accounts for 80% of global output, but consumes just 2% of it.

The Summit heard that cocoa growers face declining prices if new markets are not found to absorb excess production. More recently, the industry is taking a closer look at India and China.

"Let each of China's 1.5bn people eat one bar of chocolate a week and our problem will be solved," noted Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo at the conference.