This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 8/6/2019

Two of Cameroon’s top five exports are Cocoa Beans ($492 million) and Bananas ($306 million).  The country also produces coffee and cotton.  The Cameroonian government has expressed the desire to both increase production in all four crops and move further up the value chain.  The country has state-owned enterprises that dominate each sector.  While this approach saps dynamism in the industries, it allows for the pooling of resources and acquisition of large machinery.

Leading Sub-Sectors
Equipment for cultivating fresh produce and other high-value crops
Low and medium-horsepower tractors
First stage agriculture transformation equipment                             

Opportunities
Cameroon grows some of the highest quality cocoa beans in the world, but an antiquated supply chain and a lack of investment in the sector keeps margins low.  The national cocoa development fund, FODECC, requires immense investment in harvesting and process equipment.  Transforming cocoa beans into paste or other value-added products could be profitable.

The state-owned Cameroon Development Corporation maintains thousands of acres of palm oil, rubber and banana plantations and is the country’s second largest employer.  Palm oil is an export crop for Cameroon which generates foreign currency earnings.  It is also a the main source of vegetable cooking oil for most household.  Bananas and plantains are both export and subsistence crops especially for rural households. 

Improved planting and harvesting equipment would greatly increase productivity and profitability in the sector as a whole.
The national cotton company, SODECOTON, operates a massive, 1960’s-era cotton gin in Garoua, the North Region’s capital.  Solutions to improve the efficiency of the cotton sector would be welcomed by the government.

Web Resources
FODECC Website
Cameroon Development Corporation Website

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