Cameroon exported 698 tonnes of robusta coffee in December, the first month of the 2014/15 season, a sharp increase from 236 tonnes in the same month of the previous season, statistics from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) showed on Thursday.

The data showed that there were six exporters for the month. Nealiko Enterprises exported the most with 284 tonnes, followed by Nestle Cameroun with 180 tonnes and Polis Agro Cam with 27 tonnes.

No arabica coffee was exported from the country during the month, NCCB said. Cameroon's total exports since the start of the 2014/15 season, which started prior to the robusta season on Oct. 1, remain at 249 tonnes. Cameroon is one of the few countries in Africa that grows both robusta and arabica coffee.

The robusta coffee season runs from Dec. 1 to Nov. 30 and the arabica coffee season runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

The country exported 19,704 tonnes of robusta coffee in the 2013/14 season, up from 14,725 tonnes in the previous season, and 2,175 tonnes of arabica coffee in 2013/14, a slight drop from 2,522 tonnes in 2012/13.