(Business in Cameroon) - In its report on port activity for 2013, presented to its board members on July 4, 2014, the National Ports Authority (APN) reveals that cement and fuel were largely predominant in Cameroon’s imports last year. Indeed, the APN highlights that the two products respectively represented 16% and 15.1% of shipments to the port of Douala which handles 99.7% of the nation’s imports

The report goes on to say that a little over 1.26 billion tonnes of cement were offloaded at Douala Port between January and December of 2013, a phenomenon that was no doubt due to the high volume of construction projects underway in Cameroon. National production being 1.7 million tonnes per annum (1.2 million by Cimencam and 500,000 tonnes by Cimaf), for a demand that currently stands at 4 million tonnes, this situation has created a deficit that is officially projected at 8 million tonnes.

APN statistics indicate that 1.19 billion tonnes of hydrocarbon fuel were imported by Cameroon in 2013 as the country has a refinery (Sonara) which does not process crude locally.

Behind cement and fuel come rice and clinker (raw material for manufacturing cement) respectively amounting to 759,000 tonnes and 655,000 tonnes, which is a relative value of 9.6% and 8.3% of the country’s total imports last year.

Hardware and bulk wheat are 5^th and 6^th, with 558,000 and 543,000 tonnes imported respectively, which is approximately 7.1% and 6.9% of total imports. Frozen fish (212,000 tonnes or 2.7% of total imports), industrial chemical products (over 203,000 tonnes or 2.6% of imports) and vehicles and engines (187,580 tonnes, representing 2.1% of imports).