(Business in Cameroon) - In Q1-2021, the price index of agricultural products exported by CEMAC countries rose by 4.9%, up from 1.5% in Q4-2020. According to the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) which revealed the information, this rise was notably due to the good performance of the prices of cotton, sugar, palm oil, and coffee. During the period under review, the prices of cotton and sugar rose respectively by 16 and 12%. As for the price of palm oil, it shot up by 54.8% because of fears of production disruption with the targeted confinement in Malaysian regions due to high covid-19 infection rates (including Sabah, the main palm oil production region in the country) and the high rainfall expected in the leading producing countries (Malaysia and Indonesia) with the weather pattern La Niña.
During the period under review, coffee prices also recorded a whopping 43.6% increase despite the pressures of bumper crop in Brazil while global demand was dropping due to the restrictions and even the closure of restaurants and coffee shops, the BEAC explains.
This improvement in the prices of agricultural products exported by CEMAC countries means more financial resources for operators in the various sectors, after a catastrophic 2020 marked by the coronavirus pandemic.
Let’s note that the composite index of CEMAC commodities is calculated by averaging the price of the 28 commodities that generate 90% of the community space export earnings. That index is grouped into five categories namely, energy, metals and minerals, forestry, agriculture, and fisheries.
BRM