According to a business survey conducted by the Inter-managerial Committee of Cameroon (GICAM), Cameroon could lose 80,000 tonnes of cocoa due to unrest in the English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West.

GICAM in the report said the Southwest region, which is the country’s largest production basin, has lost it’s position, given that it produced only 32 percent tonnes this year compared to the 43,000 tonnes produced last year.

The report estimates the ongoing conflict in the region has greatly affected production costing cocoa farmers almost  F CFA three Billion.

GICAM posits a bleak forecast stating that “the repercussions will be very significant for future campaigns even if the security climate is restored, as many plantations are abandoned and a considerable amount of production equipment is now destroyed.”

For the 2018-2019 cocoa season, the survey forecasts a loss of between 60,000 tonnes and 100,000 tonnes of cocoa, which represents an average of 80,000 tonnes.

This constitutes a huge loss of income, given that it would represent between 78 and 130 billion CFA francs in export revenues, including between 49 and 81 billion CFA francs in revenues for farmers in the South-west region.