CDC struggles to reclaim leading position in banana exports.

The conflict which has spanned over seven years, reduced the intensity of activities in virtually all CDC plantations and opened the way for other producers, especially from Europe to invade the local banana production sector.

With calm said to be returning to the conflict-hit regions, activities are regaining steam in almost all estates.

This has seen the corporation already occupying second position after Plantations du Haut Penja, PHP, that took the lead as Cameroon’s foremost banana exporter at the heat of the separatist crisis.

A publication by the Cameroon Banana Association, ASSOBACAM, for the 2024 half year production shows that CDC exported 15,417 tons of bananas. 

This represents a significant increase from last year, and far outpacing other smaller rival producers who had also entered the scene when armed separatists attacked workers of the state corporation.

ASSOBACAM reports that Boh Plantations actually outpaced CDC during that period but is now also being threatened by another new entrant, Compagnie des Bananes de Mondoni, CDBM

According to the producers’ association, as of June 2024, CDC’s sales reached 15,417 tons, up from 13,677 tons during the same period in 2023. 

This growth, coupled with CDBM’s production surge, helped mitigate the decline in exports from the Plantations du Haut Penja, another subsidiary of Compagnie Fruitière de Marseille, which is the current leader in Cameroon’s banana market.

With the increase in exports by the CDC and that from the CDBM, the overall banana export credited to Cameroon rose by 11.3% increase year-on-year during the first half of 2024.

ASSOBACAM data indicates that the country’s overall banana exports would have declined in the first half of the year if not for the CDC and the impressive performance by the CDBM.

More worrying is that, the association’s report showed that PHP’s exports fell by 3,694 tons by the end of June 2024, totaling 72,327 tons compared to 76,021 tons in the first half of 2023, a 5.1% year-on-year decrease. 

Similarly, Boh Plantations’ sales dropped from 5,925 tons in the first half of 2023 to just 5,265 tons a year later.

Despite the decline in exports from these two producers, Cameroon’s overall banana sales were up 3% year-on-year by the end of June 2024. 

ASSOBACAM’s figures show that total exports reached 98,659 tons, compared to 95,669 tons between January and June 2023, an increase of 2,990 tons in absolute terms.

Banana remains one of Cameroon’s key export revenue generators, with Europe being the primary market. 

According to BKP Economic Advisors, the United Kingdom alone accounts for 13% of Cameroon’s banana exports, generating nearly 10 million Euros, which is the equivalent of about 6.53 billion FCFA in revenue. 

To maintain this commercial relationship and ensure favorable conditions, the UK signed an agreement to apply the Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA between Cameroon and the European Union, EU despite Brexit.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3177 of Tuesday July 23, 2024