Richard Kamga is a wholesaler dealing in clothes, shoes, jewelries and other fashion accessories from China, where the coronavirus began before spreading across the world. When we met him at Boulevard de la Republique in Douala where he usually buys from the Chinese, he tells us , business has never been the same since the emergence of Covid 19.
“It’s difficult to have goods here because of restrictions imposed by the Chinese. They have increased the cost so we buy at a higher price and we don’t make profit.” He laments.
Another dealer in household items, Joel Mbella explains that, the coronavirus has also affected his supplies on a negative curve. “I usually import from China and things have been fine till now. My orders don’t come as before. My suppliers here tell me that it’s hard to get goods from their country.”
The situation has been further compounded by a temporal restriction on the importation of some goods from affected countries.
GICAM concerned by Global economic fall
Global stocks have been shakened by Covid 19, raising concerns about the stability of the world economy. France, China and the United States major economic partners of Cameroon have seen their economies take an unprecedented hit from the pandemic. The world’s economy could grow at its slowest rate since 2009 this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa ECA, reveals that, the continent will suffer a disproportionate economic impact as its growth is expected to drop from a projected 3.2 % to a mere 1.8% in 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid 19.
In Cameroon where four cases have now been detected, the Groupement Inter-patronal du Cameroun GICAM is deeply worried that, the spillover of the economic crisis might slow businesses and hence retard growth in the country which is already limping. The business organization has announced it is conducting studies on how bad the Cameroon economy might suffer from the coronavirus. The results of the findings will be submitted to Government for appropriate measures to protect the country’s economy.
Custom revenue in good shape despite Covid 19 threat
Custom revenue in the first quarter of 2020 has not been touched by the coronavirus outbreak, the Director General of Custom reveals. Edwin Fongod Nuvaga explains that, “Compared to the same period last year, we can say that things have not changed, as economic operators often place orders in advance and the goods arrive gradually.” The Custom Administration is however monitoring the situation and will indicate whether “the market is affected from the second quarter.”
Government reassures consumers of stable supply of goods The Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana has assured consumers of the steady supply of basic food items and emphasized that the prices remain the same. The Minister was speaking after meeting with economic operators in Yaounde last week. The meeting provided favourable opportunity for both parties to analyze the market dynamics and map out ways of stabilizing the price should the coronavirus persists. The businessmen were upbeat that, volume of consumer goods available in Cameroon could cover a period of 3 to 4 months. This includes 191,265 tons of rice, 40,718 tons of fish, 100,302 tons of pasta and 2,165 tons of milk.
