Cameroon’s cocoa farmers are facing severe financial strain as global oversupply pushes prices down by as much as 75 percent, official figures show, threatening livelihoods across the country’s key producing regions.
According to the National Cocoa and Coffee Board of Cameroon, the Cost and Freight (CAF) price for cocoa stood at 1,817 CFA francs (XAF) per kilogram (US$2.90/kg), while the Free on Board (FOB) rate was 1,760 XAF per kilogram (US$2.80/kg) as of March 16, 2026. Farm-gate purchase prices in Douala ranged between 1,100 and 1,200 XAF/kg (US$1.75–US$1.90/kg).
The drop marks a stark reversal from record highs of 5,000 to 6,000 XAF/kg (US$8.00–US$9.60/kg) during the 2023-2024 season, when poor harvests across West Africa triggered three consecutive years of global supply shortages. Analysts now warn of a sustained downturn, with producing-region prices generally falling between 1,050 and 1,500 XAF/kg (US$1.70–US$2.40/kg).
Henri Kouam, Executive Director of the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute (CEPI), attributed the collapse to a rapid reversal in global supply fundamentals. “There is now a surplus in the market, holding back prices. New producers coming online and fragmented markets are exacerbating the situation,” Kouam told Cameroon Insider.
Reports indicate a global production surplus of roughly 186,000 tonnes for the 2025-2026 season, with some traders projecting an overhang of 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes. Recovery in Ivory Coast and Ghana, combined with favorable weather and increased output from Ecuador—a country poised to overtake Ghana as the world’s second-largest producer—has driven international futures down.
Demand has also softened. Elevated cocoa prices in 2024 prompted chocolate manufacturers to reduce bar sizes, substitute cocoa butter with alternative fats, and increase non-cocoa ingredients such as wafers and nuts. Global cocoa grinding volumes reportedly fell about five percent, shrinking the market for raw beans.
Cameroon’s liberalised cocoa market, which exposes farmers directly to global price swings, has left producers more vulnerable than those in Côte d’Ivoire, where government-stabilised pricing buffered against the worst fluctuations. Ghana has also mitigated exposure by adjusting its controlled price downward by around 30 percent.
On the ground, some Cameroonian farmers are abandoning cocoa plots or cutting trees to plant food crops such as plantains and bananas. Kouam warned that such moves threaten long-term productivity and risk exclusion from the European Union’s export markets under the 2023 EU Deforestation Regulation.
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Kouam urged the government to intervene on multiple fronts. He called for the rapid disbursement of a 4 billion XAF ($6.4 million) subsidy package earmarked for 2026 to help farmers cover input costs, including fungicides. He also recommended creating a Price Stabilisation Reserve, funded from taxes levied during boom years, to support minimum farm-gate prices during market downturns.
He further argued that Cameroon could leverage its February 2026 Amsterdam Gold Medal win by fast-tracking the “Red Cocoa” certification scheme, which commands premium prices for fine-flavour beans, insulating farmers from commodity market volatility. Expanding local processing capacity—currently at over 100,000 tonnes annually, representing 32 percent of national output—would further reduce exposure to raw bean price swings in London and New York.
As Cameroon faces one of the sharpest cocoa price declines in recent memory, policymakers and stakeholders are under pressure to adopt measures that protect farmers, sustain production, and stabilise the country’s cocoa-dependent economy.
