(Business in Cameroon) - On April 1, 2020, the price of a kilogram of cocoa beans at the Port of Douala ranged between XAF1,050 and XAF1,150, according to figures revealed by SIF, a system that provides updated information on the prices of coffee and cocoa in Cameroon. These prices are higher than the XAF1,000 and XAF1,100 mark recorded in the last week of March 2020.

This price rise, which is unlike the habit of prices going down during rainy seasons, can be explained by rising demands. Indeed, the offers of cocoa beans have decreased (due to the Anglophone crisis affecting regions like the Southwest that were till recently the leading cocoa producing region in Cameroon), and new cocoa processors have entered the market.

Also, many processors, like Sic Cacaos (a subsidiary of Swiss Barry Callebault), have increased their grinding capacity calling for more raw materials. 

BRM