Cameroon Reviews 2025/2026 Cocoa Season, Discusses Priorities for Next Campaign

Cameroon marketed 247,914 tons of cocoa during the 2025/2026 season, down 61,603 tons from the previous campaign, figures from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) show. The decline extended beyond marketed production. Cocoa exports fell by 34.65%, while volumes processed locally dropped by 14,442 tons.

The figures were presented on August 5 in Yaoundé at the Forum on the Remuneration of Cocoa Producers, convened ahead of the official launch of the 2026/2027 cocoa season.

Akamba Ava Michèle, the NCCB’s Director of Statistics, Monitoring and Commercialization, presented the season review, which covered production, exports and industrial processing.

Cameroon exported 125,469 tons of cocoa during the campaign, compared with 192,012 tons in 2024/2025.

Europe remained the country’s main export market, receiving 84.62% of total shipments. Within Cameroon, the Centre Region retained its position as the leading cocoa marketing zone, accounting for 44.54% of purchases recorded during the season.

Local processing also declined, falling from 110,388 tons in the previous campaign to 95,946 tons in 2025/2026. The season’s weaker performance provided the backdrop for discussions on how cocoa revenues are distributed among farmers, exporters, processors and other actors in the value chain.

Government Raises Concern Over Producer Remuneration

Organized by the Ministry of Trade, the forum brought together government officials, regulators, exporters, processors and producer representatives. Opening the meeting, Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana warned that the remuneration gap between cocoa farmers and other industry participants had become too wide.

“Evidence requires us to recognize that remuneration gaps between producers and other actors in the value chain remain too wide, to the point of threatening the very existence of the sector,” he said.

The minister called for producers to be placed at the center of negotiations over revenue sharing, while ruling out the imposition of a predetermined government solution.

“It is a question of accepting to sit around the table, confront our different viewpoints and identify a middle path that preserves the legitimate interests of each party,” Mbarga Atangana said.

His remarks framed the forum as an effort to reach a compromise among actors whose interests differ across the production, trading and processing segments of the industry.

Processing Capacity Comes Under Review

The talks also examined Cameroon’s capacity to process more of its cocoa domestically. Mbarga Atangana estimated installed processing capacity at about 250,000 tons, a level broadly equivalent to the volume marketed during the 2025/2026 season. He also cited neighboring Nigeria, whose processing capacity is estimated at roughly 200,000 tons, as a potential source of regional demand.

These figures have brought renewed attention to the role of local processing in creating more value within Cameroon and limiting the sector’s exposure to international market fluctuations.

Participants also reviewed the tax and customs incentives granted to processing companies, with particular focus on whether those measures have generated sufficient value for the national economy and improved returns for producers.

The discussions are expected to result in proposals on producer remuneration, value sharing, local processing and competitiveness before the 2026/2027 cocoa campaign is officially launched on August 6. The outcome will help shape the government’s approach to the new season and its broader efforts to strengthen Cameroon’s cocoa industry.

Mercy Fosoh