(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon’s pineapple exports declined by an average of 18.1 percent between 2020 and 2025, according to a report by the Competitiveness Committee of the Ministry of Economy. Over the same period, shipments to the European Union, Cameroon’s main pineapple market, fell by 19.5 percent.

“The pineapple sector is seeing a drop in total exports (-18.1 percent) and an even sharper fall to the EU (-19.5 percent). This suggests competitiveness issues or problems with meeting standards that market access alone cannot resolve,” the report said.

The decline recorded in 2024 further reduced Cameroon’s already very limited presence in the international market. Since 2019, the country’s market share has stagnated at 0.1 percent, compared with 0.9 percent for Côte d’Ivoire, according to the committee.

This stagnation kept Cameroon from benefiting from the 7.3 percent increase in global pineapple demand in 2023. Despite its recognized potential, the country remains largely absent from the expansion of international pineapple trade.

The Competitiveness Committee said that low productivity and smaller planted areas compared with other producing countries largely explain this weak performance in a global market where potential demand is high.

Citing FAO data, the report noted that pineapple yields per hectare in Cameroon are roughly half those of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is the world’s top exporter, followed by the Philippines. In 2023, they accounted for 49.2 percent and 14.8 percent of global market share. From 2019 to 2023, Costa Rica maintained a market share slightly above 47 percent, showing its ability to defend its dominant position while Cameroon struggles to gain a foothold.

BRM