(Business in Cameroon) - Last year, the import of goods and services in Cameroon grew by 13.8%, after dropping by 17.1% the previous year due to Covid-19 restrictions. According to a recent report issued by the national institute of statistics (INS), “this is the result of an upturn in imports of goods (17.3%), mitigated by a slight decline in imports of services (-0.8%).”

Overall, 5 imports have driven the upswing, the report indicated. They include “transport equipment (+49.9%), chemicals (+43.2%), agricultural products (+23.2%), grain processing products (+25.0%), and transport services and storage (+19.0%)". INS however pointed out that this upward trend in imports has contributed "negatively to GDP growth by 2.6 percentage points in 2021, a deterioration of 6.6 points compared to 2020 when imports have contributed positively by 4.0 points.”

BRM