Production costs in industrial businesses operating in Cameroon experienced a 5.2% year-on-year decrease during the second quarter of 2023. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), which has just released its Industrial Producer Price Index (IPPI), “this decrease is primarily driven by extractive industries (-21.4%), metallurgy and metal products manufacturing (-2.5%), paper and cardboard manufacturing and printing industries (-3.0%), and to a lesser extent, agri-food industries (-0.8%)”.
The state agency reported that “this is a sign that industrial producer prices in the country are gradually returning to their pre-Russia-Ukrainian crisis level, mainly marked by disruptions in global supply chains”. Such a perspective suggests a reduction in the inflationary pressures currently observed in the local market (nearly 8% in August 2023, ed).
As a reminder, the IPPI, published quarterly by the INS, measures the evolution of prices of industrial goods transactions produced in Cameroon. These are factory-gate prices paid to producers, excluding taxes and subsidies, and excluding transport margins. The IPPI relates to the secondary sector and includes the following activities: extractive industries, manufacturing activities, production and distribution of electricity and gas, production and distribution of water, sanitation, waste treatment, and pollution control.