Cocoa farmgate prices in Cameroon dropped in December after three months of rises following a government decision to raise export duties and as output increased as the main harvest peaked, according to field reports on Monday.
Emmanuel Nguile, a leading cocoa grower in Bafia in the Centre Region and vice-president of the National Cocoa and Coffee Producers' Organisation (ONPCC), said farmgate prices had dropped to 1,200 CFA francs per kilogram from 1,350 last month.
Nguile said there were abundant beans on the market as the October to January/February main crop peaked. He also said he was disappointed with the government decision to raise cocoa export taxes to 150 CFA francs per kilogram from 50 CFA francs, to provide more operating funds to industry regulators.
"This has reduced the number of buyers and exporters and the remaining few have seized the opportunity to bring down the prices," he said, adding that his organisation would hold talks in Douala on possible protest action against the tax rise.
Growers in the South-West Region expressed fear the export tax hike may lead to more beans being smuggled across the border to Nigeria. Farmers already face difficulties in transporting their produce to trading centres because of bad roads.
An estimated 20,000 tonnes of cocoa beans were illegally exported to Nigeria from the South-West, the other main growing region in Cameroon, the world's fifth-biggest grower.
