Cameroon’s Ministry of Commerce has announced that the Central African nation would suspend the importation of about 50 products.
The ministry is yet to provide details about the concerned products and the deadline for the implementation of the ban.
According to local media, no less than 12 sectors are concerned, because of the excess nature of local production.
These sectors include paints, metallurgy, cement, industrial packaging, cosmetics, agri-food, vegetable oils, palm oil derivatives and the brewing industry.
Earlier this year, the ministry called on the Cameroonian business community to draw up the “list of products to be banned from the importation”. The move according to the ministry is to protect local production and national industry.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance announces the introduction of appropriate fiscal instruments to promote local production and curb “non-essential” imports.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), Cameroon imported 3,405.2 billion FCFA in 2018 up 11.5% over the year 2017. This amount represents more than half of the budget of Cameroon in 2019 (CFAF 5212 billion).
Cameroon’s imports come from about 189 countries, of which the top ten provide more than half (58.2%). China ranks first with 18.5%. It is followed by France (8.3%); Nigeria (5.6%) and the Netherlands (4.8%).