CAMEROON – The Compagnie des Bananes de Mondoni (CDBM) played a significant role in Cameroon’s banana export growth in 2024, with total exports reaching 210,686 tons, a 1.8% increase compared to the previous year.
This growth highlights both recovery efforts and the impact of new market players.
The expansion was fueled by CDBM, a subsidiary of the French group Compagnie fruitière de Marseille. Having entered the Cameroonian market in June 2023, CDBM quickly climbed to the position of the third-largest banana producer in the country.
By the end of 2024, it exported 14,052 tons, marking a staggering 351% increase from its 2023 total of 3,115 tons. This rapid growth enabled CDBM to surpass Boh Plantations Plc (BPL).
“Our goal is to continue growing and ensuring the quality of Cameroonian bananas meets international standards,” said a representative from Boh Plantations, acknowledging the competitive landscape.
Despite the overall growth in exports, Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP), the largest producer and another subsidiary of Compagnie fruitière de Marseille, faced a setback.
PHP’s exports fell by over 9,000 tons, from 162,267 tons in 2023 to 153,258 tons in 2024, reflecting a 5.5% decline. This decrease contrasts sharply with the company’s long-standing dominance in the market.
On a brighter note, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), the second-largest exporter, increased its shipments from 29,063 tons in 2023 to 31,643 tons in 2024.
Although this marks a recovery, CDC’s exports remain far below pre-2016 levels due to the lingering effects of the socio-political crisis in the Anglophone regions. This crisis forced the CDC to halt banana exports entirely between 2018 and 2020.
Boh Plantations, though unaffected by the socio-political turmoil, saw its exports drop from 12,367 tons in 2023 to 11,733 tons in 2024.
The decline resulted in Boh losing its position as the third-largest producer to CDBM, which had been in operation locally for just 18 months by year-end.
Bananas remain a critical component of Cameroon’s non-oil exports, particularly to European Union markets. In August 2024 alone, exports reached 16,105 tons, a 15% year-on-year increase.
According to BKP Economic Advisors, “The United Kingdom alone captures about 13% of Cameroon’s banana exports, amounting to approximately 6.53 billion CFA francs (USD 11.01 million).”
The government’s National Development Strategy (SND 20-30) aims to raise annual banana production to 500,000 tons by 2030.
Achieving this goal will require investments in technology and infrastructure, alongside efforts to stabilize regions affected by socio-political challenges.
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