Cameroon robusta coffee exports rise to 1,208 tonnes by end-January

Cameroon’s robusta coffee exports more than doubled to 1,208 tonnes by the end-January since the season opened on Dec. 1 from 596 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) said.

Cameroon is one of the few African countries that grows both robusta and arabica coffee but some of its production is smuggled to neighbouring Nigeria where farmers receive a higher price.

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Data showed that Olam Cam, the local unit of Singapore’s Olam International was the sole exporter of robusta in January, shipping a total of 510 tonnes of beans.

The Central African nation exported 698 tonnes of robusta the previous month and 360 tonnes in January 2014.

No arabica coffee was shipped in January, according to the data, meaning total exports remained at 249 tonnes since the 2014/15 arabica season opened on Oct. 1.