(Business in Cameroon) - During the 2017-2018 cocoa campaign, which was officially wrapped up in Mid-July, Cameroon marketed a national production estimated at  253,510 tons, a volume up by 22,000 tons compared to the 231,510 tons marketed during the previous campaign.

This increase in production occurs despite an environment marked by violence imposed by the English-speaking separatists in the Southwest which is one of the largest cocoa producing basins in Cameroon.

According to figures published on August 7, 2018 by the National Coffee-Cocoa Board during the official launch of the 2018-2019 cocoa campaign in Ngomedzap, a production basin in the Central region, the Southwest contributed 31.5% in the overall cocoa bean purchases in the country against 50.3% and 7% for the Central and Coastal regions respectively.

During the campaign under review, the average farmgate price was CFA550 at the launch of the campaign in August 2017. In the inter-season however, this price capped CFA1,000 and even reached CFA1,210 according to the figures released by the board.

Brice R. Mbodiam