(Business in Cameroon) - Last year, the Cameroonian government spent CFA22.6 billion to satisfy the demand for wine in the local market, data provided by Trade Data Monitor showed. Compared to the previous year when the country spent about CFA20.6 billion, this makes an increase of 7.2%.

France was Cameroon’s biggest wine supplier over the period, according to the data. The country alone accounted for CFA15.7 billion (71.03% of market share) of Cameroonian wine spending in 2022, much more than CFA14.5 billion in 2021 and CFA10 billion in 2020.

The top 3 wine suppliers to Cameroon also include Spain (13.5% of the market share) and Belgium (9.2%). On the Spanish wine market, Cameroon spent nearly CFA3 billion in 2022, against a little over CFA2 billion for Belgium.

Trade Data Monitor noted a strong performance by Italian wine on the Cameroonian market. Indeed, wine imports from this country have grown by more than 75% YoY, following the launch of Italian Wine Promotion Days initiated by the Italian Embassy in Yaoundé.

Although it provides significant customs revenue, through excise duties that have continued to increase in recent years in the country, the increase in imports of wine unbalances the trade balance. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the trade balance once again showed a deficit of more than CFA700 billion at the end of September 2022, despite a 39% yoy reduction.

Brice R. Mbodiam