CDC banana exports hit 10,400 tons in Q1 2025 ⁰

The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) exported 10,400 tons of bananas between January and March 2025, according to data from the Banana Association of Cameroon (Assobacam). This is the company’s best quarterly performance in seven years.

The last time CDC reached this first-quarter level was back in 2018, when it shipped 11,631 tons. Later that year, the company was forced to halt operations due to the escalating Anglophone crisis in the South-West and North-West regions. Armed separatist groups took over CDC plantations, turned some into operational bases, destroyed infrastructure, and killed staff. By September 2018, the company had completely stopped exporting bananas.

CDC resumed activities in June 2020, after nearly two years of shutdown. But recovery was slow. In Q1 2021, it exported just 5,317 tons of bananas. That number dipped to 4,541 tons in Q1 2022, then rose to 7,289 tons in 2023 and 7,712 tons in 2024. Breaking past 10,000 tons this year signals real progress, driven by the gradual reopening of CDC’s abandoned banana farms in 2021.

The return to form is tied closely to improved security in the region and renewed support from the government, CDC’s sole shareholder. Since 2021, the state has been working to stabilize the company and help it recover.

In a speech delivered on January 15, 2025, in Buea, South-West Region, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé explained how the government stepped in to address the company’s heavy debt load. He announced that the state reached a deal with two local banks—Société Générale and AGF Bank (formerly Banque Atlantique Cameroun)—to take over and restructure CDC’s social and wage-related debt.

“The state, through a debt takeover agreement, transferred CDC’s debt of CFA59.8 billion to the two banks. This included CFA35.4 billion in unpaid wages and CFA24.1 billion in social security contributions. As part of the deal, CFA20 billion was paid to workers in 2024, and the remaining CFA15 billion will be paid this year. The tax debt of CFA31.8 billion was converted into CDC equity,” the minister said.

With the final wage payments expected in 2025—covering all salary arrears as of June 2023—CDC may finally get the breathing space it needs. There is also a broader effort underway. According to Paul Tasong, Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Economy, the government is currently in talks with international partners to secure funding for CDC.

Source: Business in Cameroon