(Business in Cameroon) - Over the first 8 months 2018, Cameroon shipped the largest volume of tropical sawn timber to Germany, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) said. Figures showed that Cameroonian exports went up 25% to 4,500 m3, over the period.

However, ITTO revealed, the European country indirectly purchased higher volumes from the Netherlands (+31% to 6,500 m3) and Belgium (+43% to 10,400 m3); two countries that themselves are major consumers of Cameroon’s tropical sawn timber.

In a recent report, the international body mentioned that Cameroon’s sawn timber exports to Belgium jumped 5% between January and August 2018 to 93,700 m3, following a sharp drop throughout 2017. With Dutch loggers such as Wijma and Fibois, Cameroon plays, alongside Gabon, “a key role in durable hard wood supply for engineering works,” in the Netherlands, according to Eric de Munck, Manager of Centrum Hout, the Netherlands’ wood information center.

Brice R. Mbodiam