Cocoa farmgate prices in Cameroon, the world's fifth biggest grower, rose slightly across most regions in early August as the new 2014/2015 cocoa season got underway, farmers said.

Cameroon's cocoa season runs from August 1 to July 31, with the main harvest period from October to January/February and the light harvest period from April/May to June/July.

"The prices of cocoa beans have gone up slightly by 50 CFA francs per kilogramme as the new season has just started," said Moise Edou in Sangmelima in the South Region.

"We only hope that there will be no heavy rainfall so that we can continue to harvest, wash and dry the beans under good conditions."

According to him, the beans are now selling at 1,150 CFA francs per kilogramme in the region, up from 1,100 CFA francs/kg a month ago.

His view was shared by Emmanuel Nnogo Akolo, the local cooperative society leader at Emana in the Centre Region where the beans are selling at 1,200 CFA francs/km, up from 1,185 in July, the last month of the previous season.

However, cocoa growers in the South-West Region are still complaining that the poor state of roads that is making it difficult for them to evacuate produce from remote areas to main trading centres in towns.

"The main problem we are facing here is poor farm-to-market roads especially now that we are in the rainy season," said Ivo Kenah, a cocoa grower and trader based in Kumba, the main trading centre in the region.

"Moreover, the other problems we are facing is the high prices of good chemicals to treat our farms while some persons are seizing the opportunity to sell us fake chemicals. So we are calling on the government to do everything to eliminate them."

Cocoa is the main cash crop in Cameroon. The crop is grown mainly in four of the country's 10 regions, with the Centre and South-West regions each accounting for 40 percent of national output, the South 15 percent and the East 5 percent.

Cultivation is expanding steadily to deep valleys with warm temperatures in high plateau Adamawa, North-West and West. Production in the country hit a record of 240,000 tonnes in the 2010/11 season before dropping to 220,000 tonnes in 2011/12 due to attacks by pests and diseases and a prolonged dry season.

It however rose to 228,948 tonnes in the 2012/13 season and statistics for the recently ended 2013/14 season are still being awaited although the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB). It should be around 235,000 tonnes while the Cocoa and Coffee Inter-professional Board (CCIB) says it will again be around 240,000 tonnes when the new season (2014/15) will be officially launched.

Below are the average farm-gate prices in CFA francs per kg recorded across the regions by mid-August:

Region District August July

South-West

Mamfe 1,000 1,000

Konye 1,180 1,175

Mbonge 1,190 1,180

Muyuka 1,190 1,180

Kumba 1,215 1,200

Centre:

Bafia 1,250 1,250

Emana 1,200 1,185

Mbalmayo 1,190 1,175

South

Ebolowa 1,100 1,050

Sangmelima 1,150 1,100

East:

Bertoua 850 870

Yokadouma 790 800