July exports of beans from the No. 5 grower were 5,188 tonnes, up from 3,169 tonnes the month before and 3,453 tonnes in the same month last year.

This year's fall in production has been blamed on a poor mid-crop harvest due to attacks by pests earlier this year and the prolonged dry season that lasted into mid-April instead of mid-March as usual.

Cameroon's total cocoa production hit a record 240,000 tonnes in the 2010/11 season. The Cocoa Development Authority (SODECAO) predicted output would reach 250,000 tonnes in 2011/12, but industry bodies estimate that output this year is set to fall by 10-15 percent.