Cameroon’s export landscape shows a significant concentration, with just 10 major clients accounting for 77.1% of the country’s exports, according to the latest Foreign Trade Report from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) released on May 8.
These major clients, including the Netherlands, France, India, China, Chad, Italy, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Spain, and Belgium, collectively purchased 5,588.7 tons of goods from Cameroon, totaling FCFA2,304.7 billion in 2023. The total value of Cameroon’s exports reached FCFA2,988.6 billion across all 133 client countries last year.
Leading the pack in 2023, the Netherlands claimed a substantial 23.2% market share, importing goods worth FCFA693.7 billion from Cameroon. Their purchases predominantly included crude petroleum oils, raw cocoa beans, cocoa paste, and raw aluminum. Following closely is France, securing 12.3% of the market share last year with imports ranging from liquefied natural gas and crude petroleum oils to cocoa butter, fuels, lubricants, raw aluminum, and cocoa paste from Cameroon.
Next in line, India held a 9.6% market share, importing goods worth FCFA286.1 billion, mainly liquefied natural gas (49.9%) and crude petroleum oils (48.4%). China followed suit with a 7.8% market share, importing a variety of goods including cocoa waste (38.1%), fuels and lubricants (28.8%), equipment and accessories (9.2%), and unsorted diamonds (8.9%), among others.
Rounding off the top 10 are Chad (5% market share), Italy (4.4%), Bangladesh (4.3%), Indonesia (3.9%), Spain (3.3%), and Belgium (3.3%). Beyond these top 10 countries, the remaining 123 clients only accounted for 22.9% of the market share, importing 1,553.7 tons of goods in 2023, valued at CFA683.9 billion.