Is Coffee Regulated by the Cameroonian Government?

In 1995 Cameroon opted for the liberalization of the coffee sector and the disengagement of the state's massive support and direction from the state to producers until the 1990s has been re-oriented towards several public organizations such as ONCC (National Organization for COCOA and COFFEE) and FODECC (Cocoa and Coffee sub-sector development funds) which have budgetary means to ensure certain public service missions or lead projects.

Coffee exports in Cameroon are governed by:

• Law No 2004/025 of 30 December 2004 amending and completing Law No 95/11 of 27 July 1995 on the organization of the cocoa and coffee trade.

• Decree No 2005/1213/PM of 27 April 2005 on the packaging and marketing of green coffee.

• Order No 0002/MINCOMMERCE/CAB of 20 January 2016 establishing the general conditions for marketing Arabica and Robusta coffee.

• Circular crop year letters published each year

The product quality and safety and the durability of the coffee sector. These include:

• National standard NC 225: commercial specifications and qualitative classification of coffee beans.

• Standard NC 226: microscopic examination and determination of defects in green coffee.

• Standard NC 227: visual and olfactory examination of coffee beans.

• Standard NC 228: packaging of coffee beans and labelling of the bags.

• Standard NC 229: practical assessment for the determination of water content of coffee beans.

• Standard NC 230: coffee bean sampling.

To ensure its sovereign duty of controlling the quality of coffee, the State relies on private companies that carry out this task on a day-to-day basis for coffee intended for export. Under the supervision of the NCCB, the role of these eight quality control companies is to inspect and control coffees for export in accordance with the specifications. These companies are brought together in a collective body whose overall aim is to ensure that high technical standards are maintained.