(Business in Cameroon) - On May 28, 2020, during an audience with the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife Jules Doret Ndongo, the president of the local wood exporters’ association GFBC (Groupement de la filière bois du Cameroun) Giorgio Giorgetti, outlined a set of measures he believes could mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector.

One of the measures the association suggested is the reduction, by half, of the customs duties applied on processed wood. In simple terms, Giorgio Giorgetti and his colleagues want the government to reduce this tax to 5.6%, instead of the 10% prescribed by the 2020 Finance Law. 

At the same time, the operators demand a postponement of the deadline for payment of the annual forest tax for the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters of 2020.

The said tax, which generated about XAF9 billion for the public treasury in 2018, is paid quarterly by forest operators for rights on the exploitation of forest management units (FMUs) the state provided to them.

BRM