Cameroon robusta coffee exports 18,543 tonnes at end of October

Robusta coffee exports from Cameroon by end-October had reached 18,543 tonnes since the season opened on Dec. 1, up from 14,673 tonnes for the same period a year earlier, according to the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB).

Data showed there were five exporters of robusta in September who shipped a total of 1,296 tonnes of beans, down from the 1,557 tonnes shipped in August.

The Central African nation shipped 450 tonnes in October of last year.

Nealiko topped the chart with 771 tonnes, followed by Olam Cam, the local unit of Singapore's Olam International, with 417 tonnes and 2C-Cam at 56 tonnes.

The NCCB said Olam Cam was the sole company to export arabica coffee, shipping 123 tonnes of beans in October, the first month of the season, up from 10 tonnes during the same month last year.

Cameroon's arabica coffee season runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The country exported a total of 2,175 tonnes of arabica beans in the 2013/14 season, down from 2,522 tonnes in 2012/13.

Cameroon is one of the few African countries that grows both robusta and arabica coffee but some of its production is smuggled to neighbouring Nigeria where farmers receive a higher price.