Cocoa [ CIF: 5156FCFA/kg FOB: 5048FCFA/kg Buying Price Douala, (by Exporters) MIN: 4500FCFA/kg MAX: 4700FCFA/kg ] Arabica Coffee [ CIF: 3286FCFA/kg FOB: 3151FCFA/kg ] Robusta Coffee [ CIF: 2873FCFA/kg FOB: 2747FCFA/kg Buying Price Moungo MIN: 1700FCFA/kg MAX: 2000FCFA/kg ]

Cocoa and Coffee Festival 2024

The Cocoa and Coffee Festival kicked off on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 with the aim of this great gathering being to promote local products which informed the choice of this year's theme - “Let's promote local products”. 

The sweet aroma of cocoa and fresh coffee filled the air of the esplanade of the delightful Yaoundé City Hall where The National Cocoa and Coffee Board had settled in. For 3 days that ensued, the NCCB showcased local products and presented its current and future activities to the public.

The opening ceremony, presided over by the Minister of Commerce, Mr. Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, was a major landmark in the event's history. This testifies to the importance of cocoa and coffee in our economy. A visit to the various stands showed admiration and satisfaction on everyone's face. The presence of companies from Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Gabon and the Congo was warmly welcomed.

Ground coffee, coffee beans, cocoa powder, chocolate fountains and many other flavors enriched the tasting sessions, to the delight of visitors.

In addition to the sales exhibition, the festival program also included competitions, notably the Café Barista competition. Participants were briefed by experts from the NCCB and India. In the course of this meeting, participants were given all the information they needed, in particular on:

  • Admission requirements;
  • Description of the competition;
  • Competition rules;
  • Evaluation criteria. 

A very detailed demonstration of the procedure was carried out. A total of 20 participants registered for the competition.

On the second day, the Festival opened with a training session entitled “ An introduction to coffee cupping ”. The aim of this exercise was to enable producers and processors to become familiar with flavours, so as to be better able to carry out a sensory analysis.

The training was divided into two phases:

  • A theoretical section focusing on introduction to cupping;
  • A practical part with the preparation of the palate and cupping itself. 

Preparing and tasting coffee is an art in itself. Each cup of coffee is the result of a precise dosage to the nearest gram. It was on this precision that the members of the Barista competition jury judged the 18 candidates who entered on the last day of the festival.

After a briefing session held two days before, the ready candidates went into action. The jury, made up of three NCCB experts and two Indian experts, judged the candidates on their composure, speed, mastery of equipment and, above all, on the dosage of ingredients.

Café vital, the overall winner of this competition after 3 rounds, will represent Cameroon in the next international edition.

The question of Cameroon's readiness to meet the EU deadline for deforestation-free cocoa was at the heart of discussions at an information session organized as part of festicocoa 2024.

The session, which brought together representatives of the European Union, Philippe Mayaux, Head of Section for Agriculture and the Environment and Claudia Antonelli, Cooperation Officer, and representatives of the Cameroonian cocoa sector, Narcisse Olinga Deputy Director of Trade at the Ministry of Commerce and Mr. Michael Ndoping the General Manager of the NCCB, aimed to raise press awareness of EU regulations and highlight the measures taken by Cameroon to meet the deadline, which is fast approaching December 31, 2024 deadline. A date has been set for next year to assess the progress made in this direction.

Relive more key moments from the Festival on our Gallery: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

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