Cocoa prices climb again but stay far below recent peaks
Cocoa prices in Cameroon have started rising again as the 2025-26 marketing season approaches its final stretch, though producer prices remain well below the record levels seen over the past two years.
According to the Information System for Agricultural Commodities, or SIF, a price-monitoring platform managed by the National Cocoa and Coffee Board, cocoa beans sold for between FCFA1,750 and FCFA1,800 per kilogram in major production areas on May 11.
That represented an increase of about FCFA 150 in just one week and pushed prices closer to the symbolic FCFA 2,000 threshold ahead of the official end of the cocoa season on July 15.
The rebound has done little to close the gap with previous seasons.
During the 2024-25 campaign, cocoa prices climbed as high as FCFA 5,400 per kilogram after reaching a peak of FCFA 6,000 during the 2023-24 season.
Those exceptional price surges had encouraged Cameroonian authorities to project producer prices between FCFA 3,200 and FCFA 5,400 per kilogram when the current 2025-26 campaign opened.
The market ultimately moved in a very different direction.
Commodity market analysts say the weaker-than-expected prices reflect growing expectations of higher global cocoa production, which has started putting pressure on markets again.
The anticipated supply surplus is expected to continue weighing on cocoa prices both internationally and across producing countries in Africa.
