Cameroon cocoa export ups as Cote d'Ivoire suffers bean rejection

Cameroon had exported 146,893 tonnes of raw cocoa beans in the season to the end of January, about 10 percent more than at the same stage last year, statistics from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) revealed on Thursday.

The figures showed Cameroon, Africa’s fourth-biggest cocoa grower, shipped 30,942 tonnes in January, down from 42,668 tonnes in December 2014 but up from 27,720 tonnes for the same month a year ago.

Cocoa is one of the main cash crops of Cameroon. The season runs from 1 August to 31 July, with the main crop harvest from October to January/February and the light crop harvest from April/May to June/July.

Output hit a record of 240,000 tonnes in the 2010/11 season but has been slipping steadily due to a prolonged dry season and attacks by pests and black pod diseases.

Meanwhile, High rejection rates meant less than 50,000 tonnes of cocoa were accepted at Ivory Coast’s ports in the first two weeks of February compared with 82,000 tonnes estimated by exporters, an official said on Friday.

“It’s hard to give a figure, but around one-third of volumes arriving from the bush are rejected due to quality problems,” the senior marketing official at the Coffee and Cocoa Council told Reuters.

He also said the board’s agents had seen a spike in acid levels in beans.