NCCB discloses Nigeria leading African importer of Cameroon’s cocoa, coffee.

It made the revelation in a recent review report highlighting the formalisation of trade between Cameroon and Nigeria. In the report NCCB said Nigeria has significantly increased the volume of Cameroon-origin beans imported to the country even though the European market still dominates in the sector.

“Europe dominated exports with 79.65%, followed by Asia at 18.91%. Despite this, Africa remains a marginal destination for Cameroonian cocoa, capturing only 1.13% of global shipments,” the NCCB stated in the report.

The NCCB report further emphasised that Nigeria has in the past been associated with illicit cocoa siphoning from Cameroon's South West Region and past fraudulent exports which led to substantial losses, with the Cameroonian government reporting approximately 70 billion FCFA loss in the 2022-2023 season due to illegal trade, primarily with Nigeria, prompting stricter trade measures. 

According to NCCB, the illicit trade by Nigerians prompted the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, to temporarily ban cocoa and coffee exports to Nigeria during the 2022-2023 period and led to the adoption of a more restrictive marketing system which later brought the country to the market with stricter measures.

NCCB said the recent increase in formal imports by Nigeria suggests a shift towards regulated trade, addressing long-standing concerns about illicit flows that have plagued Cameroon's cocoa sector for decades.

The new system put in place by the government aims to curb fraudulent exports that cause enormous losses to the national economy, particularly those directed towards neighbouring Nigeria from the South West Region.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3554 of Thursday September 04, 2025