ESG Accountability and Cocoa Market Access under EUDR: A Nigeria-Brazil Conceptual Framework

Authors: Ikugbe Eldred Ebunu; Kingsley Chibuzo Ozike; Saidu Kamara Mohamed; Sobechukwu Micah Ifemeje; Joshua Olugbenga Arowobusoye

Affiliation: Department of Business Administration and Management, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria

Corresponding Author: [email protected]

June 4, 2026

SIAR-Global Journal of Economics, Finance & Accounting

Zenodo DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20543945

Crossref DOI: 10.66694/siar.gjefa20262003

ESG Accountability and Cocoa Market Access under EUDR: A Nigeria-Brazil Conceptual Framework

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Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual comparative framework explaining how the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) may reshape ESG accountability, cocoa market access and competitive advantage in Nigeria and Brazil. The regulation shifts cocoa sustainability from voluntary certification and corporate reporting toward proof of deforestation-free production, legality, due diligence and traceability. For smallholder-based cocoa systems, the key issue is not only whether cocoa is produced sustainably, but whether such sustainability can be documented in forms accepted by regulated markets. Drawing on institutional theory, the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, stakeholder and legitimacy theory, and global value-chain perspectives, the paper argues that ESG accountability becomes a competitive capability only when supported by credible verification systems, coordinated institutions, cooperative capacity and buyer responsibility. Nigeria and Brazil are treated as contrasting Global South cocoa contexts: Nigeria shows strong production potential but persistent governance, infrastructure, quality-control and traceability constraints, while Brazil offers stronger agroforestry and restoration cocoa narratives that still depend on proof, legality and smallholder inclusion. The paper reframes cocoa competitiveness as governance-mediated readiness for market access and proposes a framework for future empirical research on EUDR readiness and cocoa-sector upgrading in emerging economies.

Keywords

ESG accountability; EUDR; cocoa smallholders; market access; Nigeria-Brazil

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Ikugbe Eldred Ebunu; Kingsley Chibuzo Ozike; Saidu Kamara Mohamed; Sobechukwu Micah Ifemeje; Joshua Olugbenga Arowobusoye (2026). ESG Accountability and Cocoa Market Access under EUDR: A Nigeria-Brazil Conceptual Framework. SIAR-Global Journal of Economics, Finance & Accounting, Vol. 2, No. 2. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20543945

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ESG Accountability and Cocoa Market Access under EUDR: A Nigeria-Brazil Conceptual Framework

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