(Business in Cameroon) - Agro-industries producing vegetable oils and soap in Cameroon decided to import 16,000 tons of palm oil, to absorb the production deficit in this raw material in the country, we learned during a recent press conference of the Cameroon Oleaginous Refiners Association (Asroc).

According to Jacques Tchabgou, General Secretary of Asroc, 9,000 tons of imported palm oil and other derivatives were offloaded at the Douala Port during the first half of 2016, while 7,000 additional tons “are currently in the vessels” en route to Cameroon.

These imports are VAT-exempted and benefit from a preferential customs duty of 5%, different from the reference value of FCfa 1,500 per litre applicable as per the regulation, as specified by a text signed on 28 December 2015 by the Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey.

Through this decision, the government was authorising, based on a request from the Regulatory Committee of the oleaginous sector, global imports od 60,000 tons of palm oil and derivatives on the Cameroonian market throughout 2016.

As a reminder, despite the existence of agro-industries providing 60% of the national production of palm oil, against 40% for village farms whose yields have been increasing throughout the years, Cameroon has an annual “structural” deficit of 130,000 tons, according to official statistics.

BRM