(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon lost CFA3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025 due to a sharp decline in raw aluminum exports, according to a trade report released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Export volumes fell by 27.7% to 8,000 tons, down 3,000 tons compared with the same period in 2024. Revenues dropped to CFA11 billion, compared with CFA14 billion a year earlier.
The figures reflect the ongoing difficulties faced by the Cameroon Aluminum Company (Alucam) since Rio Tinto’s withdrawal in 2015 and the transfer of its assets to the state, now the sole shareholder of the aluminum producer in Central Africa. They also highlight the importance of Proalu SA’s aluminum processing plant, whose foundation stone was laid on September 12, 2025, in Douala’s Bassa industrial zone.
Scheduled to start operations in 2027, the plant will rely exclusively on supplies from Alucam. Under a commercial agreement signed on August 13, 2024, Proalu SA, a subsidiary of Prometal Group, has committed to guarantee Alucam annual revenue of CFA48 billion, along with cash advances of up to CFA10 billion to secure raw material purchases and ensure production continuity.
Until that project takes effect, Alucam continues to post heavy losses. Its 2024 financial statements showed a net deficit of CFA23.7 billion, slightly worse than the CFA23.6 billion loss recorded in 2023.
The company’s performance has been marked by years of deficits: CFA23 billion in 2019, CFA14 billion in 2020, a brief recovery in 2021 with a CFA447.9 million profit, before falling back into losses of CFA8 billion in 2022. The overall trend reflects shrinking activity and persistently high operating costs.
