A partnership agreement between Cameroon cocoa producers and European Cocoa Association was signed last Friday, May 24, in Yaoundé. In details, the document signed by the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Council (CICC) and European industries hinges on information exchange and organization for a brighter future of the cocoa industry.
But, according to Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Trade (MINCOMMERCE) who presided over the ceremony, Cameroonians should not expect foreigners to improve the quality of their products.
“It was recognized that our cocoa is in good shape. There is certainly room for improvement, but the solution to our problems is indigenous. We must not wait for our buyers to come for us to act,” said the Minister. And these solutions are good agricultural post-harvest practices disseminated daily. MINCOMMERCE also enjoined local processors to move to a higher stage, so that the country no longer depends on European industry, not always willing to sell its best finished products to others.
For Apollinaire Ngwe, Chairman of CICC, each of the 468 producers present understood the merits of not mixing cocoa, not to change the taste of chocolate produced by manufacturers.
“We appreciate Cameroonian cocoa and efforts being made to make it better and better. We want to encourage these initiatives and help where we can”, said Isabelle Adam, Secretary General of the European Cocoa Association (Eca).
But she also insisted on the market requirements of European consumers. In this regard, Ms. Adam announced the setting up in Cameroon of a laboratory for the analysis of pesticide residues tolerated in the European Union.