(Business in Cameroon) - One hundred and three bags of cocoa, which is the equivalent of 6 tonnes of beans, were seized and auctioned for 1,330 FCFA per kilogramme on October 3, 2014 on the plaza of the Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Trade for the Centre in Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital. According to Regional Trade Delegate, Nicanor Zanga Djinang, this is what will happen to those in the cocoa sector who do not adhere to government directives concerning the sale of cocoa beans in the 2014-2015 season which started on August 1, 2014.

The shipment of cocoa beans auctioned comprised several seizures from areas across Centre region “for purchasing cocoa without proper professional licensing, the purchase of undried cocoa, the stocking of cocoa in unlicensed stores, the sale of cocoa with false weight and drying in front of stores”, according to reliable sources.

Nicanor Zanga Djinang asserts that, along with these infractions, there is also the out-of-season sale of cocoa and particularly the purchase of product at low prices on the black market which has been a virtual scourge for the cocoa sector. These practices will be stamped out across the country throughout the current cocoa season during site spot-checks carried out by the Ministry of Trade’s teams.

This crusade against bad harvesting practices aims to protect Cameroon products’ place on the global market and also guarantees that farmers are paid fairly.