(Business in Cameroon) - Over the past decade, the Cameroonian food industry welcomed about 1,800 new companies since the number grew from 764 to 2,564 in the 10-year period. Figures were unveiled in a presentation by the Minister of Industry (Minmidt), Gabriel Dodo Ndocke, on March 28 in Yaoundé during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute.
Between 2009 and 2016, the official said, the industrial processing of items such as palm oil, cocoa, tea and sugar strongly developed. Today, the processing of agricultural products represents 28% of the added value of the secondary sector, excluding oil, in Cameroon.
However, Cameroon’s industrial fabric remains very unbalanced insofar as 3% of companies produce more than 95% of the added value.
Talking of barriers to the development of the agricultural processing industry, the Minister of Industry mentioned, among other things, the obsolescence of the production machinery, the inadequacy of transport infrastructures, the difficulties in accessing financing and production factors, as well as the unavailability of raw materials in some cases.
Solutions, according to him, lie in the institutional structuring, which requires that government bodies, the private sector and development partners join forces. Are also listed the creation of land reserves, the opening up of production basins, the availability of electricity in quantity and quality, and the development of transport infrastructure.
For Mr. Ndocke, there is also a need for operational structuring, through the development of value chains with Technology and Innovation Support Centers, the establishment of reference technology parks and agro-industrial complexes. In addition, he points out the strengthening of mechanisms to support small and medium-sized industries, through the promotion of economic patriotism and the establishment of an infrastructure to ensure the quality of local products through the standardization of associated specifications.
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