The Cameroon Development Corporation, the second-largest employer in the country after the central administration, exported a shipment of 2,586 tons of bananas in October 2023.
Year-on-year, these exports increased by 58%, compared to the 1,636 tons exported in October 2022, according to data compiled by the sector association -Assobacam.
This marks the CDC’s second-best performance since the beginning of 2023, following the 2,592 tons of bananas shipped in January 2023. It also means a gradual recovery for the state-owned enterprise from the turmoil it has faced due to the Anglophone crisis in the Northwest and Southwesr regions. The conflict caused the suspension of CDC’s activities for nearly 2 years, affecting about 20,000 jobs.
The significant increase in CDC exports notably boosted Cameroon’s overall banana shipments to the international market during the period under review. Officially reported, the country’s banana exports increased by 10% in October 2023, year-on-year.
According to Assobacam data, they rose from 17,930 tons in October 2022 to 19,721 tons in October 2023, up 1,791 tons. This also marks the sector’s second-best performance since the beginning of 2023, following the 19,734 tons exported in September 2023.
Export Earnings
However, despite CDC’s good performance, Plantations du HautPenja (PHP) remains the market leader. This subsidiary of Compagnie Fruitière de Marseille exported 16,252 tons of bananas in October 2023, compared to 15,141 tons a year earlier (up 111 tons or 7.3%).
Boh Plantations Plc, the third market player, experienced a decline of 23.4% in October, equating to a decrease of 270 tons in absolute value. Specifically, banana shipments by this operator reached 883 tons in October 2023, compared to 1,153 tons during the same period in 2022.
The increase in banana exports recorded in the Cameroonian sector in October 2023 translates to additional export revenue for the country and increased income for the producers.
Bananas have long been one of Cameroon’s main export products, particularly to European Union (EU) countries.
CDC on recovery path -GM
During a follow-up meeting on the implementation of the resolutions of the Major National Dialogue, CDC general manager, Franlin Ngoni Njie had noted that the company was on the path of recovery despite the continuous security threats.
He had asserted that “I am optimistic that the resolution to make available military camps around the CDC camps is going to be of great help in enhancing our capacity to perform better. In recent past we have had situations where when we succeed to get our workers to get back to the plantations, when they work during the day and return to their residential areas at night they are attacked. With the presence of such security installations I think it is going to be an enhancement to the security of our workers and our plantations and this is therefore going to be a booster to our production. CDC is on the path of recovery and there has been positive development but we are still far from attaining sustainable production levels. There is still a lot of work to be done”.