According to the national banana association Assobacam, Cameroon’s banana exports dropped by 4,319 tons YoY (-23.6%) in April 2023. April seems to be the worst month of the year so far, with declines of -1.6% in January and -2% in February.
The data provider did not give reasons for this poor performance, but low production due to increasingly dry seasons (January-March) and high international input costs could be factors. All three major players in the sector have seen their exports decrease, with the market leader Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP) experiencing the largest drop. In April 2023, PHP exported only 11,336 tons of bananas, down 24.5% from the 15,030 tons shipped in April 2022.
Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) saw a decrease from 2,097 tons in April 2022 to only 1,803 tons in April 2023, a drop of 14%. This situation is a sign that the crisis in the NoSo regions (North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon), where most of CDC’s plantations are located, is slow to heal. In February 2023, gunmen attacked a truck carrying CDC workers, killing 5.
Boh Plantations Plc’s shipments also followed this trend, down 331 tons YoY (-29.5%) from 1,120 tons to 789 tons.
The reduction in banana shipments in April 2023 resulted in a decline in Cameroon’s overall export earnings. Official data shows that bananas are a significant source of export revenue for the country, which is the second-largest producer of bananas in the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries, after Côte d’Ivoire. Cameroon exclusively exports its banana production to the European market.
By Brice R. Mbodiam