(Business in Cameroon) - The Islamic Development Bank (IBD), via its specialized body International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), is signing in coming weeks a Murabahah loan agreement (contract with a known profit margin agreed between the parties) with Cameroon.

The Cameroonian Minister of Economy, Alamine Ousmane Mey, who was empowered by a presidential decree on 10 December to sign this contract, will secure an amount of €98 million euros, about CFA64.2 billion.

The money will be used to purchase agricultural inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.), cotton seed and soybeans. Output will be sold on local market, official sources said.

ID's support could thus revive a Cameroonian industrial giant namely the national cotton development company (Sodecoton), which underperformed in the soybean segment in 2017, as the soybean oil did not succeed in positioning itself on the local market. Plus, the avian influenza outbreak put pressure on soybean meal marketing during the period.

S.A