The 2025-2026 cocoa season, which closed on July 15, 2026, will go down as one of the worst of the decade for Cameroon: according to the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC), raw bean exports fell to 125,469 tonnes, down from roughly 192,000 tonnes the previous season — a 34.65% decline.
Nationally marketed production followed the same downward path, at 247,914 tonnes versus 309,518 tonnes in 2024-2025 (-19.9%), with export revenue down 58.8%. The cause: a brown pod rot epidemic in the Southwest region, compounded by aging cocoa orchards.
The FOB price at the port of Douala also collapsed, falling from a range of 3,808 to 7,536 FCFA per kilo in 2024-2025 to just 1,520 to 3,110 FCFA in 2025-2026.
The new 2026-2027 season, officially launched on August 6, 2026 in Yaoundé by the ONCC, is nonetheless starting on a more favorable note for growers: the price paid to producers, which stood at 2,700 to 2,750 FCFA per kilo at the close of the previous season, rose to 2,750-2,900 FCFA per kilo by the end of August.
