Cameroon’s cocoa bean export revenue fell 63% in the 2025-2026 season as both shipments and prices declined sharply, threatening cocoa’s newly acquired position as the country’s largest export product.
The value of cocoa beans shipped from the Port of Douala totaled CFA400.9 billion during the season, which ran from August 1, 2025, to July 15, 2026. The National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC) released the figures on August 6 in Yaoundé during the official launch of the 2026-2027 season.
In 2024-2025, cocoa bean shipments through Douala were valued at CFA1.07 trillion. The free-on-board value of exports therefore fell by more than CFA673 billion between the two seasons. FOB refers to the value of goods at the port of shipment, excluding insurance and transportation costs.
ONCC data show that the decline reflected both lower export volumes and a steep drop in international cocoa prices.
Cameroon exported 125,468 tons of cocoa beans in 2025-2026, down from 192,013 tons the previous season. The decrease of 66,545 tons represents a 34.65% decline.
Prices fell even more sharply. The FOB price of cocoa beans at the Port of Douala ranged from CFA3,808 to CFA7,536 per kilogram in 2024-2025, compared with CFA1,520 to CFA3,110 in the latest season. That represents a decline of about 58% to 60% between the two campaigns.
A Weaker Global Market
Market analysts attribute the decline in global cocoa prices to a second consecutive season of surplus production, following three years of deficits that had driven prices to record highs.
With supply once again exceeding demand, prices have come under pressure both on international markets and in producing countries.
In Cameroon, official farmgate prices ranged from CFA700 to CFA4,300 per kilogram during the 2025-2026 season. That compares with CFA3,210 to CFA5,400 the previous season, after prices reached a record CFA6,000 per kilogram in 2023-2024.
Cameroonian Cocoa Retains Its Main Markets
The decline in raw cocoa export revenue could reshape the structure of Cameroon’s exports again in 2026.
Cocoa overtook crude oil as the country’s largest export product in 2025, supported by the surge in global prices during the previous market cycle. According to a foreign trade report from the National Institute of Statistics (INS), cocoa beans accounted for 26.3% of Cameroon’s export revenue that year, compared with 22.9% for crude oil.
With cocoa export revenue down 63% in 2025-2026, the commodity could struggle to retain the top position for a second consecutive year. Despite the downturn, Cameroon maintained its main export markets during the season, according to the ONCC. Europe remained the largest destination, led by the Netherlands, and accounted for 84.67% of raw cocoa exports, or 113,528 tons.
Asia followed with 14.24%, or 19,107 tons, while Africa accounted for just 1.13%, equivalent to 1,515 tons.
Brice R. Mbodiam
