Cocoa purchases by local grinders in Cameroon slumped over 44 percent year-on-year to 2,562 tonnes in August, the first month of the 2013/14 harvest season in the world's fifth biggest grower, data from the sector regulator showed.
| Cocoa Beans |
Chocolaterie Confiserie du Cameroun (Chococam), an affiliate of South Africa's Tiger Brand <TBSJ.J> and the only other grinder in the country, did not record any purchase, NCCB data published on Thursday, showed.
Sic-Cacaos processes cocoa beans into cocoa cake, cocoa powder and cocoa liquor, sold in the six-member Central African States economic zone, while Chococam manufactures chocolate sold only in Cameroon but plans extend to the entire zone.
Another set of data from the regulator published on Thursday, showed that Cameroon produced 8,814 tonnes of cocoa in August, down 28 percent compared with the same period at the start of the previous season.
Cameroon's cocoa production hit 228,948 tonnes in the recently completed 2012/2013 season. However, months of dry, cool weather in the cocoa-producing Centre, South West and East Regions have sparked fears of a drop in production in 2013/14.
During the period, 6,252 tonnes of beans was shipped by 12 exporters. Cargill's joint venture partner Telcar Cocoa topped the chart with 2,207 tonnes exported. Olam Cam shipped 1,195 tonnes and Cameroon Marketing Commodities, 1,003 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 from April/May to July.
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