Cocoa exports drop by 3%, Holland remains the main buyer

Cameroon cocoa exports during the 2013-2014 campaign, peaked at 174,629 tonnes, according to statistics from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB), a drop of 3.37%, compared to 180,722 tonnes exported during the 2012-2013 cocoa season.

According to the Interprofessional Council of cocoa and coffee (CICC) this decline in exports, in a report of the last campaign is mainly because of congestion at the Douala port, a situation which has "heavily penalized exporters, who had to constantly renegotiate their commitments with their foreign customers, bearing the brunt of the effects of the deterioration of the quality of the product stored in containers for several weeks in such a hot and wet environment like Douala.”

Moreover, Telcar Cocoa merchant firm, Cargill, is the largest cocoa exporter of 2013-2014 season, with 24.74% of exports, against 19, 13% for Olam, 13.79% for CAMACO, 10.69% for Ets Ndongo Essomba and 8.04% for Producam.

According to a CICC report, all these exporters, sold 65.7% of cocoa production of 2013-2014 in Holland, a country that remains the first destination of Cameroonian cocoa; while Belgium received 10.6% of exports and 10.4% to Malaysia.