“(Business in Cameroon) - Insecurity in cotton production areas and the drop in demands from Nigeria (due to the collapse of the currency parity) deeply affected the animal feed sales in 2019. These negative impacts forced many operators to exit the sector,” Sodecoton indicates in an official report to which Business in Cameroon had access. In the report, the public agribusiness company summarized its operations on the animal feed production (from the transformation of cotton) and sales in 2019.

The company indicates that to make up for the drop in demands from Nigeria (which was visibly its main market for cottonseed and soy meal), it started searching for new buyers. However, “these initiatives were hindered either by customs measures that provide less incentive for the markets being explored or to more expensive transport and FOB costs, the agribusiness company writes.

Despite these export problems, Sodecoton recorded a rise in its sales of animal feeds during the period under review. According to the figures disclosed by this public company (which collaborates with over 250,000 cotton producers in the Northern regions of Cameroon), oil feed sales rose to XAF5.9 billion in 2019, against XAF5.4 billion in 2018.

For credible sources, this rise (by about XAF500 million) in the sales of animal feeds (Alibet and Nutribet) was due to an intensification of promotion activities and operations aimed at dynamizing sales channels in the domestic market.

Brice R. Mbodiam