Economie

Guaranteeing Equitable Remuneration: Cameroon Pushes Industry To Share Cocoa Profits

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06 Aug 2026 10:34
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A two-day seminar to launch this year’s cocoa campaign opened in Yaounde on August 5, 2026.

Breaking with a long-standing tradition of celebratory field ceremonies in production basins, Cameroon on August 5, 2026 in the capital, Yaounde, officially launched its new cocoa campaign with a two-day strategic seminar. Focused entirely on one core imperative - guaranteeing equitable remuneration for cocoa producers.

High-level Stakeholder Representation

Opening the seminar, Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana made a passionate appeal to key industry leaders. Including representatives from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board, ONCC, the Inter-professional Cocoa and Coffee Council, CICC. The Cocoa and Coffee Sector Development Fund, FODECC, international exporters. And development partners such as GIZ and IITA-CIP.

Departure From Tradition

Minister Atangana emphasized that replacing festive celebrations with a structured, two-day collective reflection was a deliberate choice driven by urgency. While quality issues in Cameroonian cocoa have largely been resolved, the persistent gap between farmgate prices and global market revenues continues to threaten the livelihood of farming households. And the long-term viability of the nation’s cocoa industry.

Wide Unjustified Gap

Recalling the extreme market depression experienced just two months prior, the Minister stressed that the authorities could not remain indifferent to the economic strain placed on head-of-households in rural communities.

"Evidence compels us to acknowledge that the pay gap between producers and other actors in the supply chain remains far too wide - to the point of threatening the very existence of the cocoa sector," Minister Atangana stated. Recalling Ernest Hemingway's famous line, "For whom does the bell toll? It tolls for all of us."

Why Low Domestic Prices?

A central point of discussion during the opening address was the paradox surrounding local value addition and exposure to international market shocks. With local industrial processing capacity reaching 250,000 tonnes (about 80% of the 2025–2026 marketed yield). Alongside intense demand from neighbouring Nigeria (~200,000 tonnes capacity). The government raised serious questions about why domestic prices remain tethered to global fluctuations.

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