Coffee production gets a boost in 2013/14 season

Cameroon produced 32,808 tonnes of coffee in the 2013/14 season, an increase from 16,665 tonnes the previous year, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) said at the launch of the new season.

Cameroon is one of the few African producers of robusta and arabica beans but some are smuggled to neighbouring Nigeria where farmers receive a higher price.

It produced 29,959 tonnes of robusta and 2,849 tonnes of arabica last season, officials in the West Region of Bafoussam said on Thursday.

Some 21,869 tonnes of coffee, including 19,704 tonnes of robusta coffee and 2,165 tonnes of arabica coffee, were exported with 29 exporters to 27 destinations and 413 tonnes was processed locally, officials said.

"The quality of these cash crops has remained good for arabica and has improved significantly for robusta," NCCB general manager Michael Ndoping told reporters.

NCCB officials said the sector faced problems including the high cost of equipment, inadequate regulation, bad roads, high taxes and insufficient quality controls.

Trade minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said the government is moving to boost production, processing and domestic consumption. The arabica season runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 while the robusta season is from Dec. 1 to November 30.