According to data provided by the Banana Association of Cameroon, this figure represents a third of CDC sales shortly before the Anglophone crisis.
In detail, the 10,255 tonnes of bananas exported between January and April 2024 show a downward trend if we rely on the 33,731 tonnes of bananas exported at the end of 2016. A situation which demonstrates the negative impact of the crisis English-speaking study on the performance of the public agro-industrial sector, which already operates banana, oil palm and rubber plantations in the South-West and Littoral regions. Indeed, and in view of the volumes exported at the end of February 2024, the Banana Association of Cameroon reveals that, despite the gradual increase in its production, the CDC is still carrying the after-effects of the socio-political tensions which agitate the two English-speaking regions of the Cameroon since the end of 2016.
In addition to the drop in exports, data from the Technical Commission for the Rehabilitation of Public and Parapublic Sector Enterprises demonstrate that the CDC is one of the Cameroonian public enterprises, perhaps even the only one to pay the heaviest price for separatist demands in the Noso. As such, a report from the commission mentioned above reveals that the CDC posted cumulative financial losses of 38.7 billion FCFA between 2019 and 2021; salary arrears of 35.7 billion FCFA as of June 30, 2023.
Even beyond financial considerations; As a result of this crisis, multiple CDC facilities were destroyed, employees murdered, and plantations deserted. Moreover, to date, no less than 5,500 jobs have officially been lost. Despite numerous attempts to turn the tide, the CDC could face further cash flow tensions given this poor performance observed in 4 months; which would profoundly impact the financial health of this public company, the 2nd largest employer after the Cameroonian public administration.
As a reminder, between December 2023 and January 2024, the CDC had made record exports of more than 3,300 tonnes, unheard of since August 2018.
