(Business in Cameroon) - In H1-2020, BVMAC-listed company Safacam sold 12,428 tons of palm oil, recording a turnover of XAF10.2 billion. During the same period in 2019, it sold 9,787 tons for a turnover of XAF8.7 billion.
The company explains that this rise in sales (+2,641 tons) was recorded thanks to the massive purchase made by local refiners to constitute their stocks (for fear of a total or partial confinement after the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Cameroon in March 2020).
Meanwhile, despite the 40% drop in the operations of refiners (because of the coronavirus pandemic), the stocks of raw materials were not sufficient to meet the demand. So, in September 2020, the government approved the importation of 70,000 tons of palm oil (according to the Association of Oilseed Refiners of Cameroon-Asroc)
Let’s note that for years now, Cameroon’s structural crude palm oil deficit is 130,000 tons yearly. Operators explain that this deficit is due to the stagnation of production while investments have risen significantly in the transformation segment over the past 10 years.
BRM