Cameroon’s cocoa and coffee industry has taken a significant step towards compliance with forthcoming European Union regulations by entering into agreements with six major cocoa exporters to launch a traceability platform. This initiative is in response to the EU’s impending rule, effective from the end of this year, which mandates that all cocoa products entering the European market must be proven to have been cultivated on non-deforested or non-degraded land after 31 December 2020.
The European Union, which represents Cameroon’s largest export market for cocoa, absorbed approximately 80% of the nation’s total cocoa bean exports in the 2023/2024 farming season, equating to 185,613 metric tonnes, according to figures from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board.
The newly signed agreements enable the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Council of Cameroon to manage a traceability platform that will allow EU buyers to request precise geolocation data for cocoa plantations. The platform, designed to protect the anonymity of cocoa farmers, will query existing georeferenced data to verify that the cocoa meets the EU’s stringent deforestation-free criteria.
“This is an exemplary initiative led by the private sector with substantial governmental involvement. It not only aims to comply with EU regulations but also positions Cameroon’s cocoa as a premium product on the global stage,” remarked Jean-Marc Chataigner, the European Union’s ambassador to Cameroon. Notably, Chataigner indicated that the EU has yet to be directly involved in the implementation of this platform.
Narcisse Olinga, Deputy Director in charge of external trade, expressed confidence in the initiative’s success, noting that approximately 260,000 metric tonnes—or 80%—of Cameroon’s cocoa output already meet the EU’s traceability requirements. “We are highly optimistic that we will achieve full compliance by the time the regulation takes effect,” Olinga stated.
Among the key stakeholders in this agreement are Telcar Cocoa, a joint venture with Cargill, Ofi Cam (a subsidiary of Olam International), Neo Industry, Atlantic Cocoa Corporation, Sic-Cacaos, and FODECC, the Cocoa and Coffee Subsectors Development Fund. Kate Fotso, CEO of Telcar Cocoa, emphasised the importance of adhering to these regulations to protect the interests of all involved parties, from buyers and small exporters to the nation as a whole.
