(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon’s trade deficit has significantly worsened from 2017 to 2022, totaling a loss of CFA256 billion over the six-year period, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The latter’s 2022 external trade report revealed that the trade deficit escalated from CFA1,172 billion in 2017 to CFA1,428 billion in 2022.

The document noted that this trade imbalance was largely impacted by the hydrocarbons sector. Excluding oil and natural gas, the trade deficit more than doubled from CFA1,674 billion in 2017 to CFA3,495 billion in 2022, an increase exceeding CFA1,800 billion. However, the non-hydrocarbon trade balance deficit increased by less than CFA1,000 billion over the same period.  INS said this deficit rose from CFA1,486 billion in 2017 to CFA2,463 billion as of December 31, 2022.

In response to this growing deficit, Cameroon has been aggressively implementing an import substitution policy since 2022. This strategy aims to bolster local production through various incentives for specific economic sectors, thereby gradually reducing imported products that can be manufactured locally or have local substitutes. This approach seeks to foster economic independence and stabilize the national economy by curtailing the reliance on foreign goods.