(Business in Cameroon) – In 2024, Cameroon saw a boost in its banana exports, reaching 210,686 tons, which is a 1.8% increase compared to 2023. This growth was mainly driven by the arrival of a fourth banana producer in the country, the Compagnie des Bananes de Mondoni (CDBM). This company, a subsidiary of the French group Compagnie fruitière de Marseille, had a significant impact on the banana export business, data from Assobacam showed.
By December 31, 2024, CDBM had exported 14,052 tons of bananas, a huge increase of 351% from the 3,115 tons it exported in 2023. CDBM, which entered the local market in June 2023, became the third-largest banana producer in the country by the end of 2024, surpassing Boh Plantations Plc (BPL).
This growth helped offset a decline in exports from Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP), another subsidiary of Compagnie fruitière de Marseille. PHP, which leads the Cameroonian banana market, saw its exports drop by more than 9,000 tons from 2023 to 2024. Its exports went from 162,267 tons in 2023 to 153,258 tons in 2024, showing a 5.5% decrease.
Despite this drop, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), the second-largest banana exporter in the country, saw an increase in exports. In 2024, the CDC exported 31,643 tons, up from 29,063 tons in 2023. However, the CDC’s exports are still well below pre-2016 levels, due to the socio-political crisis in the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon. The crisis forced the CDC to halt its banana exports between 2018 and 2020, as its facilities were destroyed, employees were attacked, and some sites were turned into training camps by separatist militants.
Boh Plantations Plc, the private banana producer, was not directly affected by the crisis but saw its banana exports fall by 634 tons in 2024, bringing its total to 11,733 tons, down from 12,367 tons in 2023. As a result, Boh Plantations Plc lost its position as the third-largest banana producer in Cameroon, overtaken by CDBM, which had only been operating in the country for 18 months by the end of 2024.
Bananas, mainly sold in European Union countries, are one of Cameroon’s top 10 non-oil exports. To increase revenue from this export, the country aims to raise its annual banana production to 500,000 tons by 2030, according to its National Development Strategy (SND 20-30).
