Cameroon cocoa exports reach 148,685 tonnes by end-May

Cocoa pods

Cameroon exported 148,685 tonnes of cocoa beans from the start of the 2013/14 season last August to the end of May, down from 200,915 tonnes during the corresponding previous period, according to National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) data.
The world's fifth largest cocoa producer shipped 2,268 tonnes of beans in May, down from 3,043 tonnes in March and 5,849 tonnes in the same month a year ago, the data showed.
However, the 2,268 tonnes shipped in the month represented a rise from 1,768 tonnes for the same month in the 2012/13 season.
There were 13 exporting firms for May, up from 10 in April, with Telcar Cocoa Ltd leading after exports of 854 tonnes, followed by Olam Cam with 500 tonnes and Cameroon Marketing Commodities (CAMACO) with 351 tonnes, NCCB said.
Cameroon's cocoa season runs from Aug. 1 to July 31, with the main crop harvest period from October to January/February and the light crop harvest from April/May to July.
The crop is grown mainly in four regions, with the centre and southwest each accounting for 40 percent of national output, the south 15 percent and the east 5 percent. Cultivation is also extending gradually to the northwest and west.
National output hit a record of 240,000 tonnes in the 2010/11 season before dropping to 220,000 tonnes in 2011/12 due to attacks by pests and diseases and a prolonged dry season. It rose to 228,948 tonnes in 2012/13.
It will rise to around 235,000 tonnes in 2013/14, according to a NCCB forecast.