(Business in Cameroon) - In Cameroon, the wood sector has not been spared by the coronavirus. According to Giorgio Giorgetti, the president of the Cameroonian loggers’ association GFBC, the operators expressed their concerns to the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Jules Doret Ndongo during an audience held on May 28, 2020. 

Mr. Giogetti said, dismissals, reduction of working hours, cancellation of orders, and drop in production.... are the main problems undermining the forestry sector in Cameroon in these times of Covid-19, the government daily Cameroon Tribune reports.

The operators explained that the pandemic has further damaged the Cameroonian timber industry, already struggling to alleviate the impacts of falling demands from China, which is one of the main buyers of Cameroonian products.

Because of these twin shocks, operators are asking the government to issue support measures for the sector. The pressing one is the postponement of the payment of the annual forest royalty for the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters of 2020, they say.

This royalty, which generated about XAF9 billion for the country in 2018, is paid quarterly by loggers for the exploitation of Forest Management Units (FMUs) made available by the State.

BRM