Cocoa grindings in Cameroon increased by 54 percent in the 2010/11 season to 27,131 tonnes of beans ground by May 31, compared with 17,572 tonnes for the same period in previous season, data from two regulatory bodies showed on Wednesday. The data showed that the country's only cocoa grinder SIC-Cacao, a Barry Callebaut subsidiary, bought 842 tonnes of beans in the month of May, up from 255 tonnes in April.
The figure was also up on the same month in the previous season, in which it bought 460 tonnes, the data from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) and the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board (CCIB) showed. Sic-Cacaos processes cocoa beans into cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa cake.