(Business in Cameroon) - Once again, Cameroon, as it did in late 2018, is turning to the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) for a Murabaha funding contract (contract with a known profit margin agreed by the concerned parties).

On March 19, 2020, a presidential decree authorized the Minister of Economy to sign a XAF64.3 billion loan agreement and its post-renewal documents with the ITFC. The loan thus received is planned to be used for the acquisition of agricultural inputs, cottonseed, and soybean that will be sold in Cameroon.

Let’s note that this is the second time, within 2 years, Cameroon is soliciting the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), ITFC’s head office, for the cotton and soy sectors.

The resources can help relaunch the operations of industrial giants like Sodecoton, which failed in soybean production in 2017. It did not succeed in positioning its oil in Cameroonian markets and the sales of its soya-meal were disturbed by the avian flu.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s yearly soybean imports are estimated at XAF14 billion while local producers’ current resources are estimated at XAF4 billion.

S.A.