Cocoa exports rise to 6,666 T in August

Cameroon exported 6,666 tonnes of cocoa beans in August, the first month of the 2014/15 season, up from 6,252 tonnes in the same period the previous season, according to National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) data.

The amount is also greater than the 5,472 tonnes of beans shipped by the world's fifth-largest cocoa producer in July.

The NCCB said 10 companies exported beans in August, down from 15 in July. Telcar Cocoa Ltd led the way with 2,408 tonnes, followed by Olam Cam with 1,613 tonnes and Cameroon Marketing Commodities with 803 tonnes.

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, with the centre and southwest each accounting 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.