80% Cameroon 2008-09 Cocoa Beans Shipped To Netherlands —NCCB

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (Dow Jones)—At least 80% of the cocoa beans output in Cameroon in the 2008-09 season was exported to the Netherlands, data published Tuesday by commodity regulator the National Cocoa and Coffee Board, or NCCB, show.

Cocoa output in Cameroon's 2008-09 season, which runs from August to July, hit a 20-year high of 210,605 metric tons, up from 187,500 tons on the year, NCCB statistics said.

The Dutch-bound cocoa beans were mainly shipped by the two leading cocoa exporters in Cameroon, Cargill inc. and Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), which both have cocoa entry location in the Netherlands, the figures showed.

China, India, the U.K., Belgium and Italy were among the new importers of Cameroon's cocoa in the 2008-09 season.

Asian cocoa grower Malaysia imported 4.58% of the Cameroon's cocoa.

"If Malaysia is importing our cocoa, we believe it is because Cameroon's cocoa has a rare characteristic - naturally colored with a peculiar dark-red - that makes it highly appreciated by several cocoa consumers," NCCB Managing Director Michael Ndoping told Dow Jones Newswires.

-By Emmanuel Tumanjong, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; [phone], [phone]; [e-mail]