(Business in Cameroon) - In H1, 2019, Cameroonian banana producers exported only 43,721 tons of the product. Compared with the 113,600 tons exported a year earlier, this represents a decrease of 61.5%.

This drastic drop is due to the difficulties state-owned agribusiness group CDC is going through. This group, which has most of its plants in the Anglophone region of the South-West, is paying the high price for separatists attacks affecting the region since 2017.

Due to the insecurity created by separatists, who converted some of CDC’s plantations into training grounds, the group’s executives were forced to shut down some of their operations. This is how the second largest employer in Cameroon disappeared from the database of Cameroonian banana exporters since September 2018.

Apart from the group’s banana activities, the palm oil sector is also affected. During the period under review, out of a target of 17,400 tons, only 2,100 tons were produced. In addition, the group’s rubber production dropped by 77% compared with initial targets. Out of targetted 4,000 tons, only 878 tons were produced.

Brice R. Mbodiam