In the Manyu department of Cameroon the trees went through a difficult time last year due to the low precipitation levels, like throughout the rest of the country. Any variation in temperature over the last months will take on more importance than normal.
In this part of Cameroon, the daily average temperature dropped 1 °C below average in late January and early February, due to low nighttime temperatures. However, it then rose 1 – 1.5 °C above the seasonal value in February and March.
Both these anomalies were stressful to cacao trees and likely led to low setting and low survival of the crop.
Ultimately, this department is expected to under-perform at least until mid-August.
In light of the recent return to normal temperatures, there is still hope for the trees to set fruit and try to narrow the production gap with the long-term average.
