MSC’s Flexible Services Keep Africa’s Cocoa Moving

Chocolate is being consumed more and more all over the world. In fact, the estimated global consumption of this versatile, sweet candy is around 7.2 million metric tons! That’s a lot of chocolate. 

To make all the chocolate we eat, we need a lot of cocoa – and that’s where MSC comes in. MSC is a market leader for cocoa transportation, and with a global presence in key export and import destinations, we aim to keep growing alongside our partners and customers. 

When we talk about cocoa, we can’t ignore Africa. In 2021-22, the continent is forecasted to account for more than 75% of global cocoa production, as well as more than 73% of global cocoa exports. The majority of this will come from West Africa. Notable producers and exporters include Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria. 

As a world leader in global container shipping, MSC prides itself on offering global service combined with local knowledge. Our teams in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo, and Guinea are poised to help resolve any issue that may arise as well as find appropriate solutions for the commodity. 

To go with our local expertise, MSC has its own terminal within the port of San Pedro, in the Ivory Coast, which is the main exporting port for cocoa. This ensures we can directly service customers to their specific needs. 

Not only does our global network connect the West Africa region to the key importing countries in Europe, North America, and East Asia, but we also have critical intermodal solutions, enabling a variety of loading locations and final destination options. Furthermore, our value-added digital solutions such as eBLs make the process smoother for everyone. 

Partnering with a market leader such as MSC means that we bring key benefits to the table:

• Dedicated teams with local knowledge and cocoa expertise
• Tailored logistics solutions to the customers’ needs
• Regular trade services with reliable transit times
• 24/7 container availability
• Our own terminals:
  • San Pedro (TSP - Terminal San Pedro), Ivory Coast
  • Lomé (Lomé Container Terminal), Togo
• Value added services such as intermodal transport with our subsidiary MEDLOG, or digital solutions such as eBLs

From farm to destination, we understand the care required and needs of the beans as they get transported across the world. We know that no part of the voyage can be neglected, which is why we have experienced teams working hard to ensure the best service possible. 

We have worked hard to gain the trust of our customers and partners and become a market leader in cocoa transport. We strive for excellence in every cargo journey and aim to ensure every customers’ needs are met. We look forward to helping you meet yours!

To discover all our cocoa-transport solutions, we invite you to visit our page msc.com/cocoa. Wider information about our intermodal solutions as well as our eBL options can also be found on the MSC website, at msc.com/africa and msc.com/ebl.