According to ASSOBACAM, exportations of dessert bananas from Cameroon have plummeted by 341 tons in January 2016, compared to the same period the year before (when they reached 26,366 tons).
The decrease is expected to continue throughout the year as the Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC), one of the 3 biggest local exporters, has announced that they are putting their non-standard banana activities, generally aimed at the local market, on standby. This could affect their total production.
ASSOBACAM’s three companies produced a total 267,502 tons of bananas in 2014, of which over half was destined for export. According to the Minister of Finance, bananas were the 9th export product (1.5% of total in 2014 when production increased by 7.3%).