Cameroon expects an increase in the production of cocoa

The commissioning of new orchards, for improving cultivation methods and the increase in the price per kilogram of cocoa, should enable Cameroon to consider an increase in production of cocoa to 250,000 tonnes next year against 230,000 tonnes this year, according to a study by the national cocoa and coffee Board (NCCB).

In the aftermath of the launch of the 2015/2016 cocoa campaign, structures in charge of this sector; the NCCB, the Cocoa Development Corporation (SODECAO) and the Interprofessional Council of Cocoa and Coffee (CICC) are increasing strategies.

In this perspective, SODECAO, which had stopped the disinfection campaigns of cocoa plantations some years back, announced the resumption of this activity to the great relief of producers faced with brown rot which makes growers lose a huge quantity of crops.

"This is good news and we welcome it with joy. These operations can better maintain the orchards and improve the production ", officials of the agricultural cooperative of Ndom, reacted sharply in the region in the Littoral, one of the major areas of production.

Furthermore, the increase in the price of cocoa, whose kilogram is currently trading at FCFA 1550 against FCFA 1200 on average a few months ago, provides a means of additional motivation for producers.

The price-cutting of cocoa between 1990 and 2010 led to the abandonment of the cultivation of cocoa, causing a drop in domestic production around 180,000 tonnes per year. For five years, the cocoa sector is experiencing a resurgence of activity and the goal for Cameroon, fourth world producer after Ivory Coast, Brazil, Ghana and Nigeria, is positioned among the top three producers