Yaounde, Sept 15 - Farm gate cocoa prices in world number five grower Cameroon extended their early season ascent to hit fresh peaks in September, farmers said on Tuesday.
Prices in some regions hit 1,100 CFA francs ($2.46) per kg, up from a maximum of 1,050 francs in August, the first month of the 2009/10 season, as domestic and international demand remained strong.
Farmers who are members of growing and selling collectives were able to command higher prices than farmers acting alone, growers said.
"Our cooperative sold beans at 1,100 CFA francs while middlemen were buying from desperate individual farmers at 800-900 francs," said Emmanuel Nguile, vice president of the National Organisation of Coffee and Cocoa Producers of Cameroon.
Benchmark cocoa futures contracts for delivery in December <LCCZ9> traded at 1,952 pounds per tonne in London on Tuesday, after setting a contract high of 1,963 pounds on Friday.
Exports from Cameroon in the full 2008/09 season were 178,592 tonnes, according to statistics released by the National Cocoa and Coffee Board, up 10 percent from the previous season.
As well as exporting to international markets, Cameroon's domestic domestic processing industry is expanding, with purchases for local grinding up around 25 percent on last year.
Cameroon's cocoa production is expected to have risen to around 210,000 tonnes in the 2008/09 season, up from 187,355 tonnes in 2007/08.
About 50 percent of this comes from the South-West, 30 percent from the Centre, 10 percent from the East and 5 percent from the South. The season runs from Aug. 1 to July 31.