Farmgate prices for cocoa in Cameroon have fallen in November as farmers anxious to earn money have brought their produce out of the bush to sell despite persistent rainfall and bad roads, buyers and farmers say.
At Kumba in the leading South West province producing region of the world's fourth biggest cocoa grower, beans were selling at 680 CFA francs ($1.52), down from 720-730 CFA francs in October. "We are still having too much rainfall here now and the state of the roads remains very deplorable, so much so that we no longer send our trucks to the hinterland to collect produce as regularly as we should during this peak period," said Joseph Nde, manager of Cameroon Marketing Commodities (CAMACO).
"However, farmers, very much in need of money, still manage somehow to bring their produce to the market. In fact, there is plenty of produce on the market now. This is good news for us buyers and exporters because the purchasing price has dropped sharply," he added.
At Konye, 30 km (19 miles) north-east of Kumba, Ndedi Akama, president of the Konye Area Farmers Cooperative Society (KONAFCOOP), said the price per kg had dropped to 650-675 CFA francs this month from 680-700 in October.
In Centre Province, Cameroon's second largest producing zone, cocoa beans were selling at 675-700 CFA francs per kg, down from 700-725 last month, according to farmer and licensed buying agent Emmanuel Nnogo Aloko who operates in Emana. He said the local Ebebda and Monatele Cocoa Producers' Federation had two weeks ago decided to hold back beans in a bid to obtain improved prices.
This move was also influenced by the fact that wet conditions caused by heavy rains were preventing farmers from drying their cocoa properly. Selling humid beans would fetch less money. "We withheld marketing in the hope that prices will go up," Aloko said.
"But that is not happening. Now members of our federation are pressing us to re-start marketing because they need money to pay school fees for children and begin preparing for Christmas. If things don't change within one week from now we may be forced to throw in the towel," he added.
In South Province, there was good news for farmers who were members of co-operatives. They managed to obtain improved prices of up to 680 CFA francs a kg compared with 620-640 last month, farmer Moise Edou told Reuters from Sangmelima.