(Business in Cameroon) - SOSUCAM, the largest sugar producer in Cameroon, recently published a communique assuring consumers that sugar will be available in the market despite hikes in input costs.

“The world economy is weakened by the strong rise in the prices of farm and industrial inputs. That rise has already had significant impacts on our sugar production costs. Given the upcoming events in the country and the [celebrations] of its consumers, SOSUCAM has taken measures to meet the sugar availability requirements with the State of Cameroon’s dynamic support,” the sugar producer informed.

For this subsidiary of the French group, SOMDIA, the measures initiated will ensure a sufficient supply of sugar in the national market for the holiday period, the upcoming African Cup of Nations, and even till the end of 2022.

It adds that the measures taken include the fight against frauds and contraband to protect the local sugar industry. However, it failed to disclose the real impacts of the rise in input costs on production and the nature of the support provided by the government to stabilize the market.

Let’s note that currently, housewives are complaining about the shortage of consumer products (sugar included) and the generalized rally in the prices of those products. A 1 kg box of sugar cubes previously sold at XAF750 is now XAF900 due to the claimed shortage.

On November 9, 2021, GICAM, Cameroon’s largest employers’ grouping, issued a release explaining that firms were exposed to the unprecedented rise in shipping costs and raw material prices on international markets. For the grouping, the shipping costs rose by 20 to 400% depending on the sector. At the same time, the price of inputs has risen by 15 to 50%, therefore “seriously becoming a threat to companies’ profitability and survival.”

SOSUCAM was created in 1965 and currently, it has a capital of XAF27.5 billion. The leader of the Cameroonian sugar market (70% of market share) is 74% owned by French company Somdiaa and 26% by the State of Cameroon. On average, the company produces 130,000 tons of sugar annually by exploiting 25,000 hectares of agricultural lands.

S.A.