(Business in Cameroon) – Boissons du Cameroun, a subsidiary of the French group Castel, plans to collect 12,000 tons of locally produced sorghum in 2025, up from 8,000 tons in 2024—a 50% increase in one year.
The expansion aligns with the company’s import-substitution strategy, reinforced after its 2023 acquisition of Guinness S.A. for more than CFA300 billion. The deal strengthened Boissons du Cameroun’s control over the national beverage market.
Guinness, formerly owned by British group Diageo, had established partnerships with local sorghum producers. Boissons du Cameroun has taken over and expanded these agreements, with plans to double national sorghum output used in beer and malt beverage production.
The acquisition includes a CFA200 billion investment plan to build three new plants in Yaoundé, Garoua, and Bafoussam. These facilities will expand the group’s production capacity and increase demand for local raw materials such as sorghum and maize.
The company sources crops from farmers in the Mayo-Tsanaga, Mayo-Kani, and Mayo-Danay departments in the Far North, as well as Bénoué in the North region. These supply partnerships aim to boost productivity, raise rural incomes, and strengthen the country’s grain self-sufficiency.
“Maize and sorghum are at the heart of a sustainable and inclusive ecosystem. By promoting local production, we connect industry with agriculture for more sustainable growth,” said Stéphane Descazeaud, managing director of Boissons du Cameroun.
According to the company, the initiative will help stimulate rural economies, create jobs in production areas, and advance Cameroon’s industrialization strategy based on local resources.
