CDC revival begins as banana exports hike by 58%.

The group recalled that CDC, the erstwhile biggest exporter of bananas in the country, whose activities have been crippled for upwards of six years due to disruptions caused by separatist fighters, is about to bounce back as atrocities from the fighters around CDC camps and plantations continue to decline.

The report showed that CDC exported 2,586 tons of bananas in the month of October alone this year as compared to the 1,636 tons exported in the same month in 2022.

“The Cameroon Development Corporation, the second-largest employer in the country after the central administration, exported a shipment of 2,586 tons of bananas in October 2023. Year-on-year, these exports increased by 58%, compared to the 1,636 tons exported in October 2022, according to data compiled by the sector association, ASSOBACAM,” Business in Cameroon reported.

The association reiterated that this is the second time the CDC is recording such performance since the beginning of 2023, following the 2,592 tons of bananas shipped into the international market in January 2023. 

“It also means a gradual recovery for this state-owned enterprise from the turmoil it has faced due to the Anglophone crisis in the North West and South West regions,” the association report harped.

Typical camp dwelling homes for workers of the frontline state corporation

Alluring that the Anglophone conflict caused the total suspension of CDC’s activities for nearly two years, affecting about 20,000 jobs, even though many of the sectors are now still struggling to take off in full swing.

In the report, officials of the association expressed optimism that the significant increase in CDC exports notably boosted Cameroon’s overall banana shipments to the international market during the period under review. 

Cameroon’s banana exports increased by 10% in October 2023, year-on-year. According to ASSOBACAM data, they rose from 17,930 tons in October 2022 to 19,721 tons in October 2023, up 1,791 tons. 

This also marks the sector’s second-best performance since the beginning of 2023, following the 19,734 tons exported in September 2023.

On Cameroon’s overall export earnings from the banana sector the report showed that the CDC is still a long way from assuming the position it occupied on the national scale before separatist atrocities escalated.

“However, despite CDC's good performance, Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP) remains the market leader. This subsidiary of Compagnie Fruitière de Marseille exported 16,252 tons of bananas in October 2023, compared to 15,141 tons a year earlier (up 111 tons or 7.3%,” the association report showed.

On the same vein, the assessors stated that Boh Plantations Plc, the third market player, experienced a decline of 23.4% in October this year, equating to a decrease of 270 tons in absolute value. 

Specifically, banana shipments by this operator reached 883 tons in October 2023, compared to 1,153 tons during the same period in 2022, according to the association´s latest report.