Cocoa exports rise to 21,508 T by end September

Cameroon exported 21,508 tonnes of cocoa beans by the end of September, the second month of the 2014/15 season, up from 19,855 tonnes in the same period the previous season, according to National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) data.

It exported 14,842 tonnes in September itself, more than the 13,603 tonnes in the same period the previous year and also greater than the 6,666 tonnes of beans shipped in August.

The figures showed a rise in overall production for the season in the world's fifth-largest cocoa grower.

The NCCB said 16 companies exported beans in September, up from 10 in August. Telcar Cocoa Ltd led the way with 7,073 tonnes, a sharp increase from 2,408 tonnes in August.

This was followed by Olam Cam with 2,117 tonnes up from 1,613 tonnes and Cameroon Marketing Commodities with 1,354 tonnes up from 803 tonnes the previous month.

Cameroon's cocoa season runs from Aug. 1 to July 31, with the main crop harvest period from October to January/February and the light crop harvest from April/May to July.

The crop is grown mainly in four regions. The centre and southwest each account for 40 percent of national output, the south 15 percent and the east 5 percent. Cultivation is also extending gradually to the northwest and west.

Cameroon produced 209,905 tonnes of cocoa in the recently ended 2014/15 season, down more than 8 percent from 228,948 tonnes the previous season.