Cameroon exported 27,524 tonnes of cocoa beans in the month of October, bringing the total for the season so far to 64,937 tonnes, according to statistics from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) sent to Reuters. That is down on the 69,702 tonnes exported by the same point last season. The data, confirmed by the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board (CCIB) also showed a decline in the month compared to the 33,930 tonnes exported in the same month last season.
Cameroon is the world's fifth largest grower. Speaking to Reuters, CCIB chief operations officer Andre Marie Lema attributed the drop to persistent heavy rainfall during the month in the leading South-West and Centre growing regions which slowed down the drying process.
A manager at the second main exporter Cameroon Marketing Commodities (CAMACO) based in Kumba in the South-West added that the rains further deteriorated the poor state of earth roads, hampering produce evacuation from remote areas. Cameroon's cocoa season runs from August 1 to July 31, with the main harvest period from October to January/February. The Centre and South-West regions account for 40 percent each of the country's cocoa production and the remainder comes from the South and East regions, although cultivation is extending rapidly to the Littoral region as well as the deep valleys with warm temperatures of the high plateau West, North-West and Adamawa regions.
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