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Concept
Economy of Cameroon
Summary
The economy of Cameroon was one of the most prosperous in Africa for a quarter of a century after independence. The drop in commodity prices for its principal exports – petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton – in the mid-1980s, combined with an overvalued currency and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long recession. Real per capita GDP fell by more than 60% from 1986 to 1994. The current account and fiscal deficits widened, and foreign debt grew. Yet because of its oil reserves and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2018, Cameroon produced:
5 million tons of cassava (13th largest producer in the world);
3.9 million tonnes of plantain (3rd largest producer in the world, only behind Congo and Ghana);
2.6 million tons of palm oil (7th largest producer in the world);
2.3 million tons of maize;
1.9 million tons of taro (3rd largest producer in the world, second only to Nigeria and China);
1.4 million tons of sorghum;
1.2 million tons of banana;
1.2 million tons of sugarcane;
1 million tons of tomato (19th largest producer in the world);
674,000 tonnes of yam (7th largest producer in the world);
594,000 tons of peanut;
410,000 tons of sweet potato;
402,000 tons of beans;
332,000 tons of rice;
310,000 tons of pineapple;
307,000 tons of cocoa (5th largest producer in the world, after Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia and Nigeria);
302,000 tons of potato;
301,000 tons of onion;
249,000 tons of cotton.
In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products, such as coffee (33,000 tons) and natural rubber (55,000 tons).
Cameroon's financial system is the largest in the CEMAC region. Access to financial services is limited, particularly for SMEs. Aside from a traditional tendency for banks to prefer dealing with large, established companies, determining factors are also found in interest rates for loans to SMEs being capped at 15 percent and being heavily taxed. As of 2006, bank loans to SMEs hardly reached 15 percent of total outstanding loans (Molua, 2002).
Official source
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