Cameroon's cocoa bean exports totalled 63,723 tonnes from August 1 to November 31, compared with 84,500 tonnes in the same period last year, according to Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board (CCIB) data seen on Monday.
November bean exports from the world's fourth biggest cocoa grower almost doubled month on month to 32,152 metric tonnes from 16,821 tonnes in October, but were virtually unchanged from the 32,142 tonnes exported in November 2006.
"From what we are observing in the field, the 2007/2008 season entered full gear in the second half of November, despite a very timid start," said Andre-Marie Lema, chief of operations at the CCIB.
Cameroon's cocoa season runs from August 1 to July 31, with sales peaking between November and January. Production and marketing was delayed this year by a prolonged rainy season. "By mid-November, heavy rains began to subside in most of the production zones and there was plenty of sunshine facilitating the drying of beans," he said.
Lema said some co-operatives in Centre Province had been withholding stocks in hope of a rise in world market prices, but had released beans onto the market under pressure from poor farmers in need of cash. Centre Province is the country's second biggest production zone after South-West Province, which borders Nigeria.
"There is a lot of produce on the market now and we are looking forward to the quantity of beans exported to rise again for the months of December and January," he said. Cameroon's total output was 179,243 tonnes in the 2006/07 season, up from 163,821 metric tonnes the previous year. Almost all of it is exported in bean form, except for around 20,000 tonnes ground each year by local processor SIC Cacao.