(Business in Cameroon) - On December 12, 2017, processors and chocolate makers, on the London cocoa spot, were not in the rush to sign December’s purchase contracts, Reuters reported.    

Though that day was the last to sign these contracts and, despite the “dramatic discounts” offered by sellers, buyers were still reticent to sign, worried that they may receive beans of approximate quality, mainly from Cameroon, the source explained.

“It’s probably the cheapest cocoa you can get in store at the moment”, a dealer said explaining that Cameroon’s beans make up about half of the cocoa offered “but, nobody really wants it”, he concluded.

Due to the poor quality of Cameroon’s cocoa, which tends to have a “smoky” taste, many chocolate makers prefer cocoa from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, the world’s top two producers.

Brice R. Mbodiam