By Mesumbe Nelly
Cameroon cocoa farmers have no reason to fear of potential price instability for their cocoa following a deal reached by the government and a prominent international buyer for fixed farm gate price. Cameroon’s Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana has announced a fixed farm gate cocoa price for the 2024/25 season.
The farm gate price for cocoa in Cameroon according to a release by the Minister has been set at 5,200 FCFA per kilogramme. This price is the result of an agreement between a chocolate company and a local cooperative that specializes in high-quality cocoa production.
“As part of the government’s drive to increase the value of Cameroonian beans on the international market, a major operator in the world chocolate industry has just signed a major purchase contract with a local cooperative specializing in the production of top-of-the-range cocoa, for a farmgate price of 5,200 FCFA/kg,” the release from the Minister stated.
However, he did not disclose the name of the chocolate company or the local cooperative involved in the agreement.
According to Atangana, this deal, which comes shortly after the launch of the 2024/2025 cocoa season, reinforces the prestige of Cameroonian cocoa on the international market and revives confidence in the industry regarding the quality of its cocoa.
“It invites all producers and their organisations to draw inspiration from this new partnership model for a remuneration commensurate with their aspirations in return for the marketing of a defect-free commodity aiming for qualitative excellence, a sine qua non for consolidating the last season’s achievements,” he added.
Due to a decline in cocoa production across West Africa, Cameroon has seen a surge in cocoa prices over the past year. The price per kilogram, which used to be around 400 FCFA, has now risen to 5,200 FCFA.
While Cameroon ranks among the largest cocoa producers globally, insecurity in its Southwest region, that produces about 60% of the country’s cocoa has negatively impacted output. Currently, some farmers are in the harvesting phase, following the minister’s launch of the 2024-2025 farming season two months ago.
Farmers generally salute the sudden rise in cocoa prices and have expressed efforts by government to ensure stability in the current high price.
“Price has always been our problem. So this increase is well appreciated especially as we have improved the quality of our cocoa. We hope the high price can be stable and sustain to permit farmers better plan” said Esapa Patrick Enyong, president of the South West Farmers’ Cooperative Union, which groups thousands of farmers in the country’s largest cocoa production basin.
The high cost of inputs and high cost of transporting the produce due to bad roads will now be covered by the guaranteed new price, he added.
