Cocoa transformation to hit 80,000 tons by December – Trade minister.

According to online news outlets, processing capacity at the lone processing factory, Cameroon Neo Industry Plan, at Fondjomoko in the West Region, would be increased from handling 32,000 tons per year to 80,000 tons per year, by December.

The expansion project, set for completion before the end of this year, officials said, will create 700 jobs as well as open new production lines. But the Minister of Trade warns that the expansion could mean that getting regular supply of raw bean to feed the industry could be a challenge as Neo’s demand will account for up to 80% of current local processing capacity.

He visited the site on August 5, accompanied by senior officials from the ministries of Trade and Industry.

Industrial Director, Samuel Boog, said the expansion will double cleaning, roasting and grinding lines, increase hydraulic presses from two to four, and increase packaging lines to six from four. The company will also add a cold storage unit, a refining line, a solar field and a biomass boiler.

The extension will also improve product quality and broaden its range of consumable products, which presently include cocoa butter, cocoa mass, cocoa powder and cocoa cake.

If construction is completed by end of year as scheduled, the inauguration of the first phase will take place during the first half of 2026, the Minister of Trade stated. 

Minister Atangana reiterated that regular bean supply remains a key risk, reason he urged farmers to rise up to the challenge by expanding their farms and increasing output. 

“I say this to cultivators: you will need to run to find the beans. You will need to find these 80,000 tons,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cameroon produced more than 300,000 tons of cocoa in the last season, of which around 100,000 tons were processed locally.

If production remains stable, Neo Industry alone could account for 80% of local processing, moving Cameroon closer to its goal of grinding 40–50% of national output—about 150,000 tons. 

“This extension will completely transform Cameroon’s cocoa industry,” the minister said.

Neo Industry sources cocoa beans from all major production basins, with branches in Bafia, Ntui, Mbalmayo, Ebolowa, Obala, Bafang, Mbanga, Yaounde and Yokadouma. As part of its social responsibility policy, the company has taken in 100 children of farmers from Mbalmayo and Sa’a at its plant.

Businessman, Emmanuel Neossi, founded Neo Industry in 2015. The Fondjomoko plant became operational in 2019 after an investment of some 86 million US Dollars (about 54 billion FCFA). Construction employed 800 workers, and the factory currently has 279 full-time workers.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3566 of Tuesday September 16, 2025