Indeed, the decline in international prices and the slowdown in global demand are compressing the value of agricultural exports in the first quarter of 2026. Consolidated statistics from the National Economic and Financial Committee show a contraction of nearly 30% in revenue from major cash crops compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. Cocoa, a traditional driver of foreign exchange earnings, is bearing the brunt of the financial shock with a 37.7% decline in sales, generating 199.3 billion CFA francs, down from record levels recorded at the end of the 2024/2025 campaign. The decline stems from the collapse of global cocoa prices, which have fallen from a peak of around $13,000 per ton to approximately $4,550, representing a 65% downward adjustment that offsets the gains in national production, which was fixed at 309,518 tons.

The erosion of margins is also affecting secondary crops, such as rubber, whose revenue has decreased by 16.7% to 10.3 billion CFA francs, and coffee, which has recorded a decline of 17.6% for earnings of 4.1 billion CFA francs. The degradation of export values reflects the decline in global prices, with robusta cocoa falling from $6.2 to $3.9 per kilogram (-36%) and arabica dropping from $9.2 to $7.6 per kilogram (-17.4%). In contrast, raw cotton has seen a 57.5% surge to reach 21.1 billion CFA francs, driven by a favorable base effect despite a 27.6% decline in cotton seed production to 284,613 tons. Similarly, bananas have confirmed their recovery thanks to a 2.8% increase in international prices and an exported volume of 74,589 tons (+29%), generating 23.3 billion CFA francs in revenue (+28%), although this does not offset the overall deficit accumulated by the cocoa sector.


Nlend Flore

Tags: agriculture cameroun exportations cacao economie marche mondial produits agricoles commerce international finances