Overview
Cameroon’s second and sixth largest exports are cocoa beans ($647 million) and bananas ($266 million), respectively. The country also produces coffee, cotton, rubber, and corn. The Cameroonian government has expressed the desire to both increase production in all six crops and move further up the value chain. The government has also stated a strong desire to increase domestic rice production, as the sector faces increasing import supply shortages. 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
- Mechanized milking equipment
- 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. Palm oil is also the main raw material for the production of vegetable cooking oil for most households. 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.