Economy

Cameroon’s trade surplus with Italy rises to over 100 billion FCFA.

by Edmond
12 Sep 2024 01:12
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Cameroon cocoa being processed for export

Cameroon export trade with Italy has been recording a surplus for over a decade; which surplus has now risen to more than 100 billion FCFA.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, NIS, the surplus is exactly 104.7 billion FCFA at the moment.

In its recent monthly report, NIS revealed that Cameroon has consistently recorded a trade surplus with Italy for the past decade, averaging 104.7 billion FCFA per year.

This data comes from the current report in which the National Institute of Statistics highlights Cameroon’s trade with the group of seven most industrialised nations in the world, G7 and Britain and its allies that have broken out of the European Union to create the BRICS+ group.

According to the document, Italy is the only country within these two groups where Cameroon maintains a trade surplus, dating back to 2014. Between 2019 and 2023, Cameroon had an average annual trade deficit of 337 billion FCFA with G7 nations and 583 billion FCFA with BRICS+.

The NIS noted that Italy's demand for Cameroonian products is so high that, in 2023, it ranked as Cameroon’s 6th largest trading partner globally, just ahead of Chad, Cameroon’s top trading partner in the African continent.

Italy purchased 275,900 tons of goods from Cameroon, worth 132.5 billion FCFA, which accounted for 4.4% of Cameroon’s total exports last year.

Within the European Union, Italy moved up to 3rd place among Cameroon’s top clients in 2023, holding an 8.7% market share. The main exports from Cameroon to Italy include crude oil, 68.2%; sawn wood, 12.9%; veneer sheets, 9%; and raw aluminum, 5.8%. Together, these products represent 95.9% of Cameroon’s exports to Italy.

On the import side, despite a slight decline in the value of imports from Italy in 2023, the country remained Cameroon’s 5th largest supplier, holding 7.3% of the market.

Cameroon imported goods worth 97 billion FCFA; with mechanical machinery accounting for 39.8% of imports; iron and steel products, 10%; plastics, 6.1%; and electrical machinery, 5.6%; as principal imports.

In recent years, Cameroonians are beginning to import more and more of Italian wines. The report NIS showed that in 2022, Cameroonian importers bought Italian wines worth €1.369 million; which is about 900 million FCFA.

This represents a 75.58% increase compared to 2021, according to Trade Data Monitor, which tracks trade statistics from over 115 countries covering 99% of global trade.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3226 of Wednesday September 11, 2024