(Business in Cameroon) - With its 20,000 producers, UTZ and Rainforest certified as of the 2011-2012 season, Cameroon produced 5,446 tonnes of certified cocoa in 2013-2014. This production more than doubled the previous season’s which was only 2,000 tonnes according to figures provided by the Inter-professional Cocoa and Coffee Council (CICC).

The main exporter of this type of cocoa is Telcar Cocoa (3,000 tonnes), a trader of the global firm Cargill, which currently is steering the certified cocoa production promotional campaign. To this end, last September, the exporter paid 500 producers of certified cocoa from the South-West region a bonus of over 104 million FCFA or 50 FCFA per kilogramme of certified product.

In order to make the production of this type of cocoa more lucrative on the international market, the CICC plans to launch “a major awareness campaign with the support of international partners and certifying organisations starting in the fourth quarter of 2014. In the first quarter of 2015, the certification’s support programme will be implemented in where the CICC has projects with producer organisations.”