Cocoa exports drops 25% by the end of June

Cameroon, the world's fifth cocoa grower, has exported 152,941 tonnes of cocoa beans from the start of the 2013/14 season to the end of June, down from 203,220 tonnes in the corresponding previous season, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board said on Thursday.

The roughly 25 percent fall in total exports came despite higher shipments in June when 4,256 tonnes of cocoa left the ports compared with 2,305 tonnes for the same month last year and 2,268 tonnes in May.

NCCB indicated that there were 11 exporters for the month, down from 13 in May, with Producam exporting a hefty 1,003 tonnes, followed by Olam Cam with 983 tonnes and Telcar Cocoa Ltd with 853 tonnes.

Cameroon's cocoa season runs from August 1 to July 31, with the main harvest period from October to January/February and the light crop harvest period from April/May to June/July.

The NCCB says it foresees national production of the country's main crop increasing to about 235,000 tonnes in the ongoing 2013/14 season from 228,948 in 2012/2013.