Cameroon agricultural commodities 36 products, 9 categories

Nine categories of export commodities

Next, here is what each category covers and who usually buys it. Each heading links to a category hub with more detail.

Cocoa Products

Cocoa is Cameroon’s best-known export crop. We offer beans plus butter, powder, liquor, cake and shells. Our cocoa division, BV Cocoa Products, handles the processed lines. Buyers include chocolate makers, grinders, bakeries and feed mills.

Green Coffee

Cameroon grows both species. Washed Arabica comes from the cool western highlands, while natural Robusta comes from the Moungo valley, South-West and East. Roasters and green coffee traders buy both.

Oil Seeds

Sesame, soybeans, groundnuts and palm kernels serve crushers, food makers and traders. Sesame and groundnuts come mainly from the dry north, while palm kernels come from the humid south.

Vegetable Oils

Crude palm oil and palm kernel oil serve refiners, soap makers and food plants. They ship in flexitanks, ISO tanks or drums, on request.

Animal Feed Ingredients

Palm kernel cake, soybean meal, rice bran, yellow maize and cocoa shells serve feed mills. Many feed buyers combine two or three of these lines in one supply plan.

Cereals & Pulses

Yellow and white maize, sorghum, millet, rice and red kidney beans serve millers, food makers and grain traders. For a full overview of maize, see our Cameroon maize exporter page.

Spices

Black and white pepper, ginger, turmeric, chili, cayenne and garlic serve grinders, packers and seasoning firms. Moungo valley pepper, from the Penja area, is the star of the range.

Nuts & Kola

Raw cashew nuts from the north serve processors. Kola nuts and bitter kola serve wholesalers, diaspora distributors and ingredient buyers.

Industrial Raw Materials

Natural rubber, cotton lint and legally sourced hardwood charcoal serve tyre makers, spinning mills and BBQ brands. Unlike food commodities, these trade mainly on lab data and technical grades.

When export commodities come to market

Here is a simple month-by-month view. For the full chart, see our Cameroon harvest calendar.

• September to February: main cocoa crop; Arabica from October and Robusta from November.
• September to December: northern harvests of groundnuts, sorghum, sesame, soybeans and maize.
• October to January: cotton picking in the north.
• November to March: pepper harvest; ginger from December.
• February to May: raw cashew nut harvest in the north.
• May to August: cocoa mid-crop; first maize and bean harvests in the south and highlands.
• Year-round: palm products, cocoa derivatives, feed meals, rubber and charcoal.

Booking early helps with seasonal commodities, because the best lots of each crop tend to sell first.

Quality control across all commodities

Every lot of our commodities passes the same five checkpoints, set out on our quality and sourcing page.

• Buy in the region: from producer groups and aggregators, with lots kept apart.
• Dry and store: to target moisture, off the ground in covered warehouses.
• Sample and test: against the contract specification.
• Clean, sort and pack: in new export-marked bags with a lot number.
• Inspect and load: independent inspection and fumigation where required, then loading at Douala or Kribi.

Moisture and foreign matter are checked on every lot. Then each line has its own key tests. For example, cocoa gets a cut test, and coffee gets screen and defect counts. Maize and grains are tested for aflatoxin against your limit. Sesame can be tested for oil and FFA on request. In addition, cocoa and coffee export lots are subject to quality control by Cameroon’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC).

Buyers may also nominate an inspection company, such as SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek or Cotecna.

Packing, ports and Incoterms

Packing follows the trade norm for each of our export commodities. Cocoa beans go in 62.5–65 kg jute bags, and green coffee in 60 kg jute bags. Grains and oil seeds usually ship in new 25 or 50 kg PP bags. Spices use 25 kg jute or PP bags, with liners where required. Palm oils ship in flexitanks, ISO tanks or drums, while rubber and cotton ship in bales.

We load at Douala or Kribi. Quotes are FOB Douala or Kribi, CFR or CIF to your port. Under CIF, we also arrange minimum cargo insurance. The ICC sets out each term in its Incoterms rules.

How to order from BV Holdings Agro

Every order follows our six-step export process. First, you send an inquiry naming the commodities you need. Then we send an offer and sample. Next, both sides sign a contract that sets the spec, price, Incoterm, payment terms, inspection method and shipment window. After that, you arrange payment security. Meanwhile, we prepare and inspect the goods. Finally, we ship and release documents per the payment terms.

Why buy from BV Holdings Agro

• 36 products across 9 categories, with one contact for all of them.
• Lots bought in the producing regions and kept apart by origin.
• Pre-loading checks and independent inspection on request.
• Full export documents and loading at Douala or Kribi.
• Part of BV Holdings PLC, alongside BV Cocoa Products and BV Metal & Minerals.

For market news and buyer guides, visit our insights section. To learn more about the company, see about us.