Thanks to this rise in its banana exports, the CDC hopes to quickly return to the good performances of 2016 and 2017. Periods during which production was around 10,000 tonnes per month.
The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), the 2nd exporter of bananas in Cameroon and 2nd largest employer after the state, has just recorded its strongest performance since September 2018, by exporting 3,347 tonnes of bananas in January 2024, according to data published recently by the Cameroon Banana Association (Assobacam), which indicates that the four (04) Cameroonian banana producers and exporters, PHP (Plantations du Haut Penja), CDC, Boh Plantations Plc (BPL) and CDBM (Compagnie des Banana de Mondoni) exported a total of 22,521 tonnes in January 2024 (compared to 18,101 tonnes exported in January 2023 by these same producers, with the exception of CDBM).
Indeed, the CDC, which had counted zero on the export counter in this sector, between September 2018 and May 2020, due to the harmful effects of the crisis in the North-West and South- West. CDC only sold its bananas internationally in June 2020 with only 301 tons of bananas, compared to 9,657 during the same period in 2017.
Crossing the 3,000-ton mark in December 2022
Since the resumption of its activities, following the security efforts deployed by the authorities, the agro-industrial company (created in 1974 and which has vast plantations around Mount Cameroon) has crossed the threshold of 3,000 tonnes of bananas exported in December 2022.
And although this level of productivity was not constant throughout the year, the quantities of bananas exported nevertheless oscillated between 2,000 and 3,302 tons during the 12 months of the 2023 financial year. This allowed it to export overall 29,063 tons of bananas that year. Enough to reassure the top management of the CDC who hopes to see exports rise quickly to reach those of 2016 and 2017. Periods during which production was around 10,000 tons per month.
However, this rise in CDC production comes in a difficult context for the company. The CDC, which saw a good part of its installations destroyed due to the security crisis in the English- speaking part of the country, continues to be affected by this situation. This also led him to accumulate many months of salary arrears as well as significant losses between 2019 and 2021.
FCFA 62.4 billion debt as at June 30, 2023
The data recently made public by the CTR (Technical Commission for the Rehabilitation of Public and Parapublic Sector Companies) indicates that the agro-industry recorded FCFA 38.7 billion losses between 2019 and 2021, making it the company which is today paying the heaviest price for the ongoing separatist demands in the North West and South West.
We also learnt that the operating difficulties encountered by the CDC do not allow it to honour its financial commitments.” We thus note an overall increase in its debt (…). For the social debt, its increase is linked to the evolution of salary arrears as of December 31, 2022 of 17.78%, despite the support of the State, as well as to the accumulation of unpaid social contributions increasing by 15%,” indicates the CTR, in its 2022 report on the situation of public companies and establishments.
Before concluding: “As of June 30, 2023, salary arrears stand at FCFA 35.7 billion, and the social debt to the CNPS (National Social Insurance Fund) at FCFA 26.7 billion”.