(Business in Cameroon) - Local consumption is key to the revival of the coffee sector in Cameroon, Agriculture Minister Gabriel Mbairobe said at the second meeting of Parf-Café, a support project aimed at reviving the local coffee sector.  "(...) Truly, some of our coffee varieties still have niche markets abroad. But to regain our former position, we can only rely on local consumption," the government official said.  

To help Cameroon regain the ground its coffee sector has been losing for years now, the government and the Cocoa-Coffee Council are constantly stepping up initiatives to encourage the consumption of coffee produced in Cameroon. An example of the initiatives is the International Cameroonian Coffee Festival (Festicoffee) due to be relaunched in 2023, after being suspended due to Covid-19.

To further the same cause, monthly promotional days (JMP) were introduced in 2016, dedicated to the tasting of Cameroonian coffee and cocoa products. Generally organized every last Wednesday of the month, these days enable consumers, invited to a site open to the general public, to consume locally roasted coffee free of charge. A few months ago, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) organized a cross-country awareness convoy to train restaurant owners and hoteliers in the preparation of local coffee. 

According to the Cocoa and Coffee Council (CICC), in recent years, the initiatives have improved the local consumption of made-in-Cameroon coffee. “For a dozen years (2001-2012), coffee consumption has stagnated. However, since 2012, it is growing albeit modestly.   In this respect, a correlation can be established between this take-off and the institutionalization of Festicoffee, coffee promotional days, and other actions to promote coffee consumption," on Cameroonian territory, the council indicated in an official document.

BRM