Economy

CEMAC: Cocoa price drop worsens foreign exchange earnings.

File photo of cocoa bean being loaded in bags for the market

The Bank of Central African States, BEAC, has published its 2026 first quarter Composite Commodity Price Index, ICCPB, showing the drastic drop in cocoa prices has drained foreign exchange earnings within Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States, CEMAC.

BEAC data show that cocoa prices fell 24.6% during the review period, making the commodity the main driver of the decline in agricultural export prices.

Coffee prices the report showed, also moved lower, although the drop was more limited at 4.5%. The central bank's report does not provide specific reasons for the decline even though commodity market analysts point to changing supply conditions in the global cocoa market.

According to the Central Bank, agricultural commodities exported by CEMAC countries fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, driven mainly by a steep decline in cocoa prices.

The Bank´s ICCPB published recently showed that overall agricultural export prices dropped 21.8% between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.

The decline, the report stated, follows a 14.5% drop recorded in the previous quarter. The index tracks export prices for Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and the Central African Republic; all of which highlighted the slump in cocoa prices as leading the decline.

Meanwhile, the International Cocoa Organisation, ICCO, expects the market to return to a surplus during the 2025/2026 season, extending a recovery that began last year after three consecutive seasons of deficits.

The anticipated increase in supply is expected to be supported by Ecuador, where rising production has fueled expectations of a shift in the global cocoa industry.

The South American country could overtake Ghana as the world's second-largest cocoa producer as early as this season, the analysts stated.

The prospects of a better-supplied market the report noted, has weighed on prices both on international exchanges and in producing countries.

It is worth noting that the ICCPB tracks the prices of 20 commodities that account for about 90% of the value of exports from CEMAC countries.

The basket covers five revenue yielding sectors, including: energy products, metals and minerals, forestry products, agricultural commodities, and fishery products.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3819 of Tuesday June 16, 2026