U.S. investment fund TriLinc Global Impact Fund has cut the value of its claim on Cameroonian cocoa and coffee trader Producam by 21.6%, as persistent recovery delays deepen uncertainty over a financing that has been in difficulty since 2018. The outstanding principal remains CFA9.26 billion, but TriLinc now values the debt at CFA7.26 billion, a difference of nearly CFA2 billion.
The figures come from TriLinc’s quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 12. The fund reported $16.078 million in outstanding principal on Producam, compared with a “fair value” of $12.604 million.
At the June 30, 2026, reference exchange rate of about CFA575.70 to the dollar, those amounts correspond to CFA9.26 billion and CFA7.26 billion, respectively.
A 21.6% Discount
TriLinc therefore continues to carry CFA9.26 billion in principal but estimates that the claim is now worth about CFA2 billion less. That represents a 21.6% discount.
The difference does not mean TriLinc has definitively lost CFA2 billion or that it has waived its right to recover that amount from Producam. Rather, it reflects the fund’s current estimate of what the claim is worth after factors such as recovery delays and the risks surrounding the amounts it expects to collect.
The valuation deteriorated further during the first half of 2026. At December 31, 2025, TriLinc valued the claim at $13.526 million, about CFA7.79 billion. Six months later, its carrying value had fallen to $12.604 million. That represents a decline of $921,650, or about CFA531 million.
TriLinc attributed the additional write-down to persistent delays in recovery.
The Producam claim is valued through a method based on expected future proceeds. TriLinc estimates the amounts it expects to recover and applies a discount to account for factors that include time and risk. Like all investments in its portfolio as of June 30, 2026, the claim is classified as a Level 3 valuation. This means no directly observable market price exists and the valuation therefore depends on assumptions made by the fund manager.
A Financing in Trouble Since 2018
The case dates back to 2018. Between March and June of that year, TriLinc acquired three participations totaling $15.986 million in trade financing provided to Producam for its cocoa and coffee export activities.
According to TriLinc’s account, Africa Merchant Capital Group (AMC), which managed the financing at the time, told the fund in the third quarter of 2018 that Producam had used proceeds from the sale of part of its inventory to meet working-capital needs instead of repaying the loan.
TriLinc’s filing does not include Producam’s account of this episode.
The financing was subsequently restructured. In April 2021, Scipion Capital replaced AMC as manager of the facility and agreed, among other measures, to continue enforcement of the collateral to recover the amounts due.
The financial terms were also revised. The original 17.5% interest rate was retroactively reduced from January 1, 2019, to 9.5% for the two cocoa-related participations and 6% for the coffee-related participation.
The restructuring also provided for the capitalization of part of the interest. Instead of immediate payment, those amounts were added to the principal. This explains why the CFA9.26 billion, or $16.078 million, in principal recorded as of June 30, 2026, slightly exceeds TriLinc’s original $15.986 million investment.
TriLinc No Longer Records Expected Interest
TriLinc’s accounts show a maturity date of December 31, 2024, for the financing. The fund now classifies it as both in default and on non-accrual status.
In financial terms, non-accrual status means TriLinc no longer automatically recognizes the interest due under the contract as income. The fund says a loan is generally placed on non-accrual status when there is reasonable doubt that principal or interest can be collected when due.
For Producam, the interest TriLinc did not recognize as income totaled $1.022 million in the first six months of 2026, or about CFA588 million.
That amount is separate from the nearly CFA2 billion discount between the outstanding principal and the estimated value of the claim. It represents interest that TriLinc could have recognized as income if the financing had performed normally but no longer records because of uncertainty over collection.
Recovery Now Hinges on UK Legal Action
TriLinc’s recovery no longer depends solely on Producam. In its report, the fund said that as of June 30, 2026, it expected to recover most of the outstanding amounts through legal action in UK courts against the financing’s collateral manager and its insurer.
TriLinc did not identify those parties or disclose the amount sought in the UK proceedings or the expected timetable. The report alone therefore does not establish how much the fund could recover or when it could receive the money.
The Producam case is also part of a TriLinc portfolio with a significant share of troubled debt. As of June 30, 2026, loans to 19 companies were on non-accrual status, with a combined fair value of $129.57 million. They accounted for 49.3% of the total value of its investments.
The fund also had 21 investments on its “Watch List,” which subjects them to heightened monitoring after a significant deterioration in credit or recovery risk. Those investments represented 51.1% of the portfolio. The Producam claim alone accounted for 4.8% of TriLinc’s investment value.
The Link to the Kékem Plant Remains Distinct
In Cameroon, Producam has historically been associated with Emmanuel Neossi’s cocoa activities. The company was already among Cameroon’s cocoa exporters before the launch of the Kékem industrial project.
In June 2016, Ecofin Agency reported that Producam was behind plans for a cocoa-processing plant in Kékem with equipment supplier Bühler. When the plant was inaugurated on April 26, 2019, however, it was operated by Neo Industry SA, another company promoted by Emmanuel Neossi.
The project represented a reported investment of CFA54 billion, including CFA1.2 billion in public support. Its announced initial capacity was 32,000 metric tons of cocoa beans a year, with output of about 26,000 tons of cocoa products.
These facts do not establish that TriLinc’s financing was used to build the Kékem plant. The SEC filing explicitly describes TriLinc’s investment as trade financing for Producam’s cocoa and coffee trading activities and does not identify Neo Industry as a borrower.
Similarly, TriLinc describes its Producam investment as impaired, but the report does not say the Cameroonian company is bankrupt. Nor does it provide information that establishes Producam’s current operating position.
Baudouin Enama