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Cameroon was preparing to officially open its 2025-2026 coffee season on January 16, 2026, in Batidoum, a key coffee-producing locality in the East region. This launch comes at a time when the government is seeking to consolidate a modest recovery in the sector after years of decline.
In a statement released on January 13, 2026, ahead of the ceremony, the results of the 2024-2025 coffee campaign were presented. The previous season had officially closed on September 15, 2025, for Arabica coffee and November 15, 2025, for Robusta.
According to the cited official figures, the 2024-2025 campaign recorded improvements in both the volumes marketed and the prices paid to producers. Total marketed production reached 11,637 tonnes, compared to 10,592 tonnes the previous season, an increase of nearly 10%. Producer prices also rose sharply, offering some relief to growers. Arabica coffee averaged 2,854 CFA francs per kilogram, compared to 2,375 CFA francs a year earlier, while Robusta prices rose from 1,500 to 1,959 CFA francs per kilogram. This represents increases of 20.16% and 30.6%, respectively.
Optimism was expressed regarding the prospects for the new season, suggesting that farm-gate prices could improve further. A favorable international environment was highlighted, marked by strong global demand and tighter supply caused by climate disruptions in major producing countries. These dynamics are helping to drive up global coffee prices.
For the 2025-2026 campaign, the intention is not only to capitalize on recent gains in production and price but also to accelerate structural reforms. Key priorities include strengthening local processing capacity and stimulating domestic consumption. These measures are part of Cameroon’s National Development Strategy 2020-2030 and are designed to help the country better position itself within the African Continental Free Trade Area by exporting higher value-added products.
However, the authorities’ ambitions contrast with the sector’s long-term performance. Despite multiple revival programs, Cameroon remains far from its production targets of 125,000 tonnes of Robusta and 35,000 tonnes of Arabica per year. These targets were set under the cocoa-coffee sector revival plan adopted in 2014 and reaffirmed in 2020.
Sector stakeholders attribute the prolonged slowdown to several factors, including climate change and declining interest from farmers discouraged by purchase prices long considered unprofitable. As a result, national production has fallen significantly. While Cameroon produced about 130,000 tonnes of coffee per year in the 1990s, production in the 2024-2025 campaign was less than one-tenth of that level.
This decline in raw coffee production contrasts with more positive trends in downstream activities. Unlike the cocoa sector, coffee roasting in Cameroon is largely controlled by local companies. Several of these operators have won international awards for quality, raising hopes that Cameroonian coffee could become a stronger export niche.
Despite this potential, Cameroon remains a marginal player in the global market. With an average market share of only 0.1% between 2018 and 2022, the country ranked 54th globally in terms of coffee export volumes. Data shows that Cameroonian coffee exports are concentrated on a handful of markets—Algeria, France, Belgium, and Portugal—which together accounted for nearly 63% of exports in 2022.
As the new season begins, the challenge for Cameroon will be to transform recent price increases and processing momentum into a sustainable production recovery and a stronger position in regional and global coffee markets.