(Business in Cameroon) - By May 2018, the total cocoa exported by Cameroonian producers during the current campaign was estimated at about 220,000 tons. This was revealed by authorized sources during the review of the 2017-2018 cocoa campaign organized by the Cofee-cocoa council.

At this rate, by July 2018, when the campaign should end, the volume produced could be higher (or equal in the worst cases) than the 231,642 tons produced during the last season. According to our sources, this estimate is far below the real production in view of the security challenges in the Southwest which is one of the largest production basin.

Indeed, many producers abandoned their farms, fleeing combats between the armed forces and the secessionists. According to these sources, due to these security reasons, the fraudulent exports with neighboring Nigeria have increased.

They further reveal that they do not expect the cocoa quality to improve significantly this season despite the numerous measures taken by government and exporters in that regard. As for the price, it is below CFA1,000 per kilogram; far below the CFA1,500 it used to be.

Brice R. Mbodiam