CAMEROON – Cameroon produced and sold 257,151 tons of cocoa in the 2019-2020 season, a drop of 2.7% from the previous campaign period which attained 264,253 tons.

This was revealed by National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC) who stated in a report that the country exported 197,537 tons of cocoa to 13 countries.

The 2019-2020 importers list featured new buyers i.e. South Korea, Albania, and Lebanon while the season’s export outgoers were the United States of America, Mexico, Canada, and France, reports Business in Cameroon.

At first glance, the case of France seems curious since the country, via the Confederation of Chocolate and Confectioners of France, has partnered with producers in the production areas where there exist cocoa Center of Excellences.

“France has indeed disappeared from the list of destinations for generic cocoa, that is cocoa grades I and II which constitute the bulk of our exports. But this country has become a niche market for premium cocoa from Cameroon,” explains a source in the cocoa-coffee industry.   

According to the ONCC, the top 5 destinations for Cameroonian cocoa during the campaign under review were Holland (62.3% of overall cocoa exports), China (9.8%), Malaysia (8.2%), Indonesia (6.2%), and Germany (3.3%).

Commodities majors Cargill and Olam were the main buyers, accounting for 84% of purchases on the international market.

“France has indeed disappeared from the list of destinations for generic cocoa, that is cocoa grades I and II which constitute the bulk of our exports.”

source in the cocoa-coffee industry

The regulator has not yet given a production forecast for the 2020/2021 season, which opened on Sept. 11.

Ghana raises cocoa farmers’ pay by 21%

Meanwhile, Ghana plans to increase the guaranteed farm gate cocoa price paid to farmers by at least 21% to 10,000 cedi (US$1,745) per tonne for the next cocoa season starting on Oct. 1, two sources told Reuters.

The increase is in line with a similar increase in neighbouring top grower Ivory Coast as the two major cocoa producers, who account for over 60% of global cocoa bean production, seek to boost farmers’ income.

In June 2019 Ivory Coast and Ghana established a price floor of US$2,600 per tonne and a Living Income Differential (LID) of US$400 per tonne, to tackle poverty among farmers.

“Farmers will get at least 10,000 Cedi for a tonne. This has been as a result of the implementation of the LID,” said a source at Ghana’s cocoa sector regulator, the COCOBOD.

Emmanuel Adem Opoku, COCOBOD’s deputy chief executive in charge of operations told Reuters that no decision has been made yet on the increase of the farm gate prices. He added that the official announcement will be made on Oct. 1.

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