Cameroon’s customs collected CFA564 billion in revenues as of August 31, 2022. Over the same period last year, the revenue was CFA543 billion, down 3.9% or CFA21 billion.

The higher amount in 2022 is the result of the technological innovations recently implemented by the customs administration to optimize the mobilization of resources. An example is the “Cosmos” app that now enables better tracking of non-cleared vehicles. Another app called “portrans.cm” allows authenticating the clearance slip of the vehicle applying for registration. This reduces the chances of fraudsters and saves the customs revenue that was lost due to fraud.

Moreover, the special “Halcomi III” (Stop Illegal Trade) teams cover the whole territory to make up for any shortcomings in physical customs controls. For 2022, the Directorate General of Customs targets CFA863.9 billion, 1.4% (+CFA11.6 billion) more than 2021. Achieving this goal will require the mobilization of CFA299.9 billion for the rest of the year. “Strategies will be outlined […], to achieve, or even exceed, the annual revenue target,” says the customs administration.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The government of Cameroon has announced a decrease in the price of bagged cement. The drop comes in view of the country’s increasing cement production capacity, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

As a result, the price of a bag of 42.5 R-grade cement will fall to XAF4800 (US$7.26) from XAF5100 in Douala and from XAF5400 to XAF5100 in Yaoundé.

In terms of 32.5 R-grade cement, in Douala, the price will decrease to XAF4100 from XAF4600 while in Yaoundé the drop will be from XAF4900 to XAF4400.

Source: Cement News

Cocoa exports during the 2021-22 campaign in Cameroon generated a total of CFA288.7 billion in revenue, according to data from the national cocoa coffee office (ONCC). This sum, collected by the 38 active exporters identified over the period, is largely higher than the profit made by producers. This means that producers, who are the real workforce of the sector, benefit less than others.

This problem is also observed on the global market. The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) reported that the annual turnover of the global cocoa industry reaches $100 billion, but only $2 billion (2%) goes to producers. Chocolate manufacturers reap the largest share with 35% of the turnover, while the remaining is shared between the grinding industry and transporters.

During the 2012-13 campaign, for example, at a time when the farm gate price was close to CFA1,500 per kg in Cameroon, local cocoa farmers sold about CFA250 billion of beans, according to ICCO data. However, during the same period, the global sector generated a total of CFA4,500 billion, said Jean-Marc Anga, then ICCO executive secretary, during the 2013 edition of the Cameroonian cocoa festival (Festicacao 2013).

To boost revenue for producers, the major producing countries on the continent such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon launched with the European Union (EU), the world’s largest importer of cocoa beans, an initiative called Cocoa Talks. It is presented as a dialogue on sustainable cocoa production.

 “Sustainability means protecting the environment. But, sustainability also means the survival of producers […] Sustainability rhymes with the protection of the environment, the prohibition of child labor, and ultimately, the prosperity of producers. That is what we want from this discussion,” said Minister Mbarga Atangana, at the opening of the Cocoa Talks on November 18, 2021, in Yaoundé.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroonian authorities say record flooding on its western border with Nigeria has killed at least six people, washed away homes, and destroyed thousands of tons of food meant for export.

In a video circulated on social media platforms by Widikum council officials, civilians asked the Cameroon government to help clear the road of earth, mud and stones to enable them to leave Widikum.

Among the merchants is Paul Okafor, a Nigerian who buys palm oil and vegetables from Widikum to sell in his country. He said floods and landslides have blocked him in Widikum for five days, and no vehicle has been able to leave or enter because flood waters have covered roads and landslides are pulling down hills on roadsides.

Okafor said the vegetables and tomatoes he bought are beginning to rot, and Widikum vegetable farmers are complaining that their harvest is decaying.

Andoh Stanilos, the mayor of Widikum district, acknowledged that his council staff shared the videos. He said floods that triggered landslides killed six people, left hundreds homeless, and destroyed homes and warehouses.

“The floodplains overflooded and completely swept off houses,” he said. “At the moment I speak, there are over 55 people who are without something to eat. The council is trying to mobilize some resources, so I send this SOS to the government and people of goodwill to come to the assistance of persons who are destitute now.”

The floods destroyed a 36-meter-long bridge on the River Momo, keeping hundreds of merchants and commuters stranded on both sides of the river. Momo, an administrative unit where Widikum is found, is a production basin for palm oil, maize, potato, tomatoes and vegetables.

Cameroon’s National Observatory on Climate Change last month predicted that floods and landslides would hit many Cameroonian towns and villages including Widikum.

Forghab Patrick, deputy director general of the observatory, said homes built in flood-risk areas made the situation even worse.

“People build in marshy areas,” Patrick said. “What happens? Water cannot circulate correctly because the houses block even the waterways and at the end of the day, those living in those homes are all exposed.”

The government said it is educating people to stop settling on risk zones, but has not said if it will provide the food and water-hungry victims are asking for.

Source: VOA

Yves Michel Fotso, the son of the late Cameroonian billionaire, Victor Fotso doubly sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzlement of public funds during his time as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Camair-Co, the national airline may soon be a free man, Cameroon Intelligence Report has learnt from reliable sources in Etoudi.

He was arrested on December 1, 2010 and sentenced to life after it was revealed that a report of the judiciary inquiry, which was ordered by the Mfoundi High Court in Yaoundé, into the racket of acquisition of the ill-fated Presidential plane “Albatross”, had incriminated him.

Fotso was appointed the Administrator-General Manager of CAMAIR in 2000.

By Rita Akana with Intel files

The Cameroonian government announced it will approve CFA780 billion in fuel subsidy to keep pump prices unchanged in this harsh period marked by rising global prices. This new figure was revealed by the Director General of the Treasury, Sylvester Moh, in an interview with the state-owned Cameroon Tribune.

It is way higher than the CFA480 billion initially approved in the collective budget, and the CFA672 billion projected by the Minister of Commerce, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, during a press conference held on March 30, 2022, in Yaoundé. In a July 11 statement, the Minister of Water and Energy (Minee), Gaston Eloundou Essomba, revealed that fuel subsidy has already cost the treasury CFA317 billion in the first half of 2022.  

This makes a monthly average of CFA52.8 billion, or CFA634 billion over 12 months, not taking into account that in June 2022, for example, this subsidy peaked at CFA80 billion, according to Minee figures. Not only does the new subsidy figure exceed all the official figures announced so far, but above all, it could prove unsustainable for the Treasury in the medium or even short term. The country has recently experienced a fuel shortage.

“The disruptions are the consequence of the large resources subsidized pump prices that must be mobilized in real time to ensure the import of petroleum products,” the Minister of Water and Energy said on July 11, 2022, to justify the scarcity of fuel in the country’s main cities.

In this situation, the government could, instead of gradually reducing fuel subsidies from 2023 as announced, suspend the subsidy before the end of the current year 2022 given its unsustainability.

Source: Business in Cameroon

A Cameroonian business delegation headed by Professor Kenneth Ojong called on Ambassador Henri Etoundi Essomba on Friday July 15, Cameroon Concord News US Bureau reported.

During the meeting, the delegation and the head of Cameroon diplomatic mission in the US examined the difficulties encountered by importers at the port in Douala, the prolonged strike action by clearing agents, hike in import duty, and harassment by custom officials in the port.

Ambassador Etoundi Essomba assured to support the US based Cameroonian businesses on a priority basis and promised to raise the issues with the authorities concerned to facilitate imports from the US by pushing for the creation of a section at the Douala port that will be responsible for evaluating containers from the United States.

The Cameroonian top diplomat said he was grateful to the business delegation for their keen interest in accelerating their investment in Cameroon.

Speaking after the meeting, Professor Kenneth Ojong said the delegation requested the ambassador to invite the Minister of Finance and the Director of Customs to the United States to meet with over 300 businessmen and women who do business with Cameroon in a bid to encourage others to make investments.

Kenneth Ojong also revealed that Cameroonian business community in the US want a review of the CEMAC taxation policy which does not favour Cameroon and has been reducing the potential of Cameroon becoming an economic hub.

By Enowtaku Ebanghatabi Christelle in Washington

Beverage company Diageo DGE.L has agreed to sell its Guinness Cameroon brewery to France’s Castel Group for £389 million, the company has said in a statement.

Details

Castel will take over the production and nationwide distribution of Guinness in Cameroon under a licence and royalty agreement, it said.

“Under this new agreement, the brand will have both expanded brewing capacity and distribution. It will remain part of the global Guinness family through direct marketing oversight,” Dayalan Nayager, president of Diageo Africa, said in the statement.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of fiscal 2023, subject to regulatory clearances. When completed, the transaction will result in an exceptional gain on disposal of approximately £250 million after tax, Diageo said.

Source: Hospitality Ireland