On February 18, export prices for cocoa and robusta coffee reached the same level at the port of Douala, according to the Information System for Agricultural Value Chains (SIF), a price monitoring platform run by Cameroon’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC). Free on Board (FOB) prices for both commodities ranged between CFA1,760 and CFA1,817 per kilogram.
A similar alignment is observed in average farmgate prices, which range between CFA1,500 and CFA1,600 per kilogram in producing areas, according to ONCC data. Such convergence has rarely been seen in recent years, as cocoa typically commands a premium over robusta coffee on the local market.
The shift mainly reflects the downturn in Cameroon’s cocoa sector since the start of the 2025–2026 marketing season. After peaking at up to CFA6,000 per kilogram during the 2023–2024 season and reaching a high of CFA5,400 the following year, cocoa is now trading below CFA2,000 per kilogram in producing regions.
The decline contrasts with earlier government projections, which had forecast prices between CFA3,200 and CFA5,400 for the current season.
Analysts attribute the gap between projected and actual prices to global market conditions. Commodity market observers expect a global cocoa surplus during the 2025–2026 season, extending the rebound that began in 2024–2025 after three consecutive deficit years.
The recovery is driven in part by Ecuador, which could overtake Ghana to become the world’s second-largest producer this season. The anticipated surplus is expected to weigh on cocoa prices throughout the current campaign, both internationally and in producer countries such as Cameroon.
BRM
