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The NCCB did not give a comparative total figure for 2013/14 exports. The board announced exports of 158,000 tonnes at the end of last season. The statement released on Thursday, which marked the start of the 2015/16 season, did not explain the discrepancy.

The Netherlands was the top destination for exports, receiving over 73 percent of Cameroon's beans, the data showed, followed by Belgium at just over 8 percent and Indonesia at nearly 8 percent.

The leading exporting companies were Telcar Cocoa Ltd with 58,486 tonnes and Olam International's local unit Olam Cam at 30,294 tonnes followed by Cameroon Marketing Commodities with 25,757 tonnes and Ets Ndongo Essomba at 17,722 tonnes.

Meanwhile Cameroon processed 32,143 tonnes of cocoa domestically during the 2014/15 season, the NCCB said.

Industrial grinders Sic-Cacaos, a subsidiary of Swiss chocolate manufacturing firm Barry Callebaut, and CHOCOCAM, an affiliate of South Africa's Tiger Brands accounted for 32,112 tonnes. The remaining 31 tonnes were processed by artisanal units.

That compares with a total of 32,804 tonnes processed in 2013/14, according to figures announced by the NCCB at the end of that season.

In March, Cameroon announced plans to double its cocoa processing capacity to about 30 percent of its total production, or nearly 70,000 tonnes of beans per year, by adding 10 new processing units.

The nation's cocoa season runs from August to July. The main harvest is from October to January/February, followed by a light crop harvest period from April/May to June/July.

Source: Reuters Africa http://af.reuters.com