(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s Minister of Trade expects producer prices for cocoa to remain strong throughout the 2025-2026 season, which officially began on August 7, 2025, in Mbankomo, a major production area in the country’s Center region. According to Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, buyers should pay between CFA3,200 and CFA5,400 per kilogram during the campaign.
The minister attributes this positive outlook mainly to strong demand from major chocolate makers for Cameroonian cocoa, valued for its unique flavor. These qualities led the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) to admit the country’s beans earlier this year into the select group of “fine cocoa” varieties.
Alongside this high demand, prices for local producers are also expected to be lifted by unfavorable weather in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top producer supplying about 40% of global cocoa. Industry players there anticipate a difficult 2025-2026 season. The Pan-African news agency Ecofin reports that Côte d’Ivoire’s meteorological authority, Sodexam, forecasts below-average rainfall in the southern cocoa belt from April to mid-November 2025, which could affect the harvest starting in October. Lower output and exports from Côte d’Ivoire are likely to push prices higher internationally and in producer countries like Cameroon, as traders compete for available beans.
In 2023-2024, global cocoa production fell by 11%, creating a supply deficit of 374,000 tons, compared to 74,000 tons the previous year. This shortfall was driven by poor output in Côte d’Ivoire, linked to climate challenges and aging plantations. As beans became scarce, Cameroon recorded record producer prices above CFA6,000 per kilogram in its growing regions.
