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About 90.000 tonnes of palm oil to be imported in Cameroon this year, as CS ALID SARL unveils plans to increase local production

Though affected by the Coronavirus crisis, producers of refined vegetable oils and soap in Cameroon are  already  preparing for the post-health crisis. The operators will import 90,000 tonnes of crude palm oil this year 2020, in order to guarantee the supply of refineries with raw materials.

This is the decision of the Regulatory committee for the oilseed sector. Supplies are largely expected from Gabon, a country which has become a supplier of palm oil to Cameroon in recent years, thanks to the completion of an agro-industrial project by the Singaporean firm Olam, with the assistance of the Gabonese State.

The announced import should be able to benefit from the usual facilities, such as exemption from VAT and customs duty at 5%. A request has already been sent to the government to this effect.

According to operators in the sector, Cameroon for many years  has faced a structural deficit in the production of palm oil, of the order of 130,000 tonnes, each year.

“The structural deficit of 130,000 tonnes that we often talk about is a nominal deficit, which is different from the real deficit. This nominal deficit is calculated on the low of 50% of the capacities of processing companies. On the basis of the actual capacities of the processors, the deficit is indeed much larger, ” Emmanuel Koulou Ada, the President of the Committee for the regulation of the oilseeds sector explains.

The Association of oilseed refiners ASROC is however positive that, thanks to the advantages provided by the law of 2013 (revised in 2017) providing incentives for private investment in the Republic of Cameroon, processors (refined oils, household soaps and toiletries, etc.) have accelerated investments in this sector.

According to Jacquis Kemleu Tchabgou, this acceleration in investment in processing has resulted in a substantial increase in demand for palm oil in recent years. This demand is currently estimated at more than a million tonnes.

CS ALID SARL, headed by William Fotso, plans to inject the sum of 15 billion FCFA to produce 500 tonnes of palm oil daily and thus meet local demand.

A substantial investment, which will benefit from tax and customs exemptions linked to the law of April 18, 2013 setting the incentives for private investment in the national territory. An agreement has also been signed to this effect between the promoter of the above-mentioned company and the Investment Promotion Agency. It was May 14, 2020 in Yaoundé.

In addition to the large-scale production, the project will also create 600 jobs in the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reveals that, the local supply of palm oil in Cameroon  increased from 343,000 tonnes in 2014 to 413,000 tonnes in 2018, and is projected to 450,000 tonnes in this year 2020.