(Business in Cameroon) - In a recent collective sale event held on January 20 in Meyomessala, Southern Cameroon, Telcar Cocoa, a local trader affiliated with the American company Cargill, successfully acquired 73 tons of high-quality cocoa (67 tons of grade 1 and 6 tons of grade 2).

The sale, organized under the supervision of the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC), witnessed Telcar Cocoa outbidding its competitors with an offer of CFA2,520 per kilogram, surpassing the initial bidding price of CFA2,250 per kilo. This achievement is hailed as a "world record" by the Minister of Commerce, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, who attended the sale, allowing Meyomessala producers to pocket nearly CFA184 million directly and without intermediaries.

Telcar's bid represents a notable increase of CFA470 compared to the CFA2,050 per kilo offered on November 22 in Nkolmbene, a locality in the Obala commune in the Central Region. On that occasion, the company outperformed four other competing operators, acquiring the entire 120 tons of auctioned beans. Minister Mbarga Atangana had then described it as a "record price," following the "exceptional price of CFA2,015 per kilo" set by the grinder Atlantic Cocoa on November 8 in Batchenga, a production basin in the Central Region.

According to Minister Mbarga Atangana, the gradual increase in the price of cocoa per kilogram aligns with the advocacy led by the Cameroonian government during the Brussels multipartite meeting in July 2017 and the World Cocoa Conference in Berlin in June 2018. During these meetings, Cameroon reportedly requested that producer prices be improved.

"The Minister of Commerce believes that the CFA2,520 price is just a step, and prices should go even higher, given the uniqueness of Cameroon's cocoa, which has already been included by the International Cocoa Organization in the very selective list of fine cocoa. Additionally, the government intends to campaign in the coming weeks for Cameroon's cocoa to be recognized as an agroforestry product and be remunerated accordingly, beyond conventional cocoa prices. In this regard, Cameroon should receive a premium," states the Ministry of Commerce's communication unit.

The sustained rise in cocoa prices in Cameroon signals a promising 2023-2024 season in terms of producer remuneration. This improvement also reveals a certain battle between exporters and local processors for control of the bean, which is increasingly insufficient to meet the needs of industry stakeholders. According to ONCC, Telcar Cocoa remains the leading exporter with a market share of 35.8%.