Cameroon Grinders' August-November 2014 Cocoa Intake Up on Year--Industry

   By Emmanuel Tumanjong 
   Special to DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

YAOUNDE, Cameroon--Cocoa beans purchased for processing by crushers in Cameroon between August and November 2014 have slightly risen on the previous year, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) said in a report Friday.

Two companies--Sic Cacao, the Cameroon-based unit of Switzerland's Barry Callebaut AG (BARN.EB) and South Africa's Tiger Brand (TBS.JO), owner of Chocolaterie Confiserie du Cameroun, or Chococam, process Cameroon's cocoa beans locally before exporting the by-products.

Sic Cacao bought 8,252 tons of cocoa beans in November 2014 alone, while Chococam bought 456 tons. Chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa cake and liquor produced by Sic Cacao and Chococam are marketed mainly in the European Union, Cameroon and its five neighboring countries in the Economic Community of Central African States, or Cemac.

The local purchase of cocoa beans from August through October 2014 totaled 21,852 metric tons, up from 20,558 tons bought in the previous period, the statistics showed.

Cocoa beans grindings in Cameroon during the 2013-2014 season stood at 32,804 tons, up from 32,019 tons processed in the previous season.

The country exported 158,311 tons of cocoa beans during the 2013-2014 season, down from 201,563 metric tons in the previous season, according to industry data. The data also showed output in the world's fifth-largest cocoa producer during the 2013-2014 season nosedived to 209,905 tons. A total of 228,911 tons of cocoa beans was harvested in the 2012-2013 season.

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