In 2024, Cameroon's banana export sector experienced a 1.8% increase, reaching 210,686 tons, a development attributed to the entry of the Compagnie des Bananes de Mondoni (CDBM) into the market. This new player, a subsidiary of the French-based Compagnie fruitière de Marseille, significantly contributed to the sector's performance, as highlighted by Assobacam data.
By the end of 2024, CDBM's exports surged to 14,052 tons, marking a 351% increase from its 2023 figures. This remarkable growth positioned CDBM as the third-largest banana producer in Cameroon, surpassing Boh Plantations Plc (BPL). Despite this positive trend, Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP), another subsidiary of Compagnie fruitière de Marseille and a leading exporter, experienced a 5.5% decrease in exports, dropping from 162,267 tons in 2023 to 153,258 tons in 2024.
Conversely, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), despite challenges posed by the socio-political crisis in the Anglophone regions, saw an uptick in its exports, reaching 31,643 tons in 2024. This is an increase from the 29,063 tons exported in 2023, though still below pre-2016 levels. The crisis had previously forced the CDC to suspend its banana exports between 2018 and 2020.
Boh Plantations Plc, meanwhile, experienced a decrease in exports by 634 tons in 2024, totaling 11,733 tons, which led to it being overtaken by CDBM as the third-largest producer in the country. Despite these shifts, Cameroon continues to focus on the European Union as its primary market, to increase its annual banana production to 500,000 tons by 2030 as part of its National Development Strategy (SND 20-30).
Source: Business in Cameroon