The Cameroonian transport sector has formally aligned with national quality control authorities following the signing of a partnership agreement in Douala. The agreement was signed between the Standards and Quality Control Agency (ANOR) and the Cameroon Land Transport Association. (GTTC). The agreement aims to protect land transport professionals, strengthen information sharing among transporters and reduce the circulation of non-compliant goods entering the country through porous land borders. The move places transport operators at the centre of efforts to curb counterfeit and substandard imports that affect both consumers and formal businesses.
According to ANOR specialists, 40% of goods resulting from contraband enter Cameroon through land borders due to weak controls. This situation has led to the circulation of counterfeit and low-quality products, exposing consumers to multiple risks and undermining formal trade. The agreement, signed in Douala in 2026, is designed to reinforce the country’s pre-shipment conformity assessment programme, which has been in operation for nearly a decade.
Despite the programme, ANOR continued to record counterfeit products entering via land crossings, where laboratory infrastructure is not available at border posts. By involving transporters directly in the quality control chain, authorities expect to improve compliance monitoring before goods reach domestic markets, thereby reducing economic losses linked to illicit trade.
“This convention is of very great importance for the Cameroonian population,” said Danielle Ndongo, Director of Conformity Assessment at ANOR. She stated that the agreement strengthens the existing pre-shipment evaluation mechanism, noting that it has been difficult to carry out assessments at land borders due to the absence of laboratories at frontier posts.
“The convention signed with the GTTC aims to reinforce our evaluation,” she added, highlighting the need for coordinated action to prevent counterfeit goods from circulating within the country.
It emerged from the signing ceremony that the partnership comes at a time when the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, is being implemented across the continent. GTTC President Ibrahima Yaya, stated that one of Africa’s main challenges is shifting from growth driven by consumption and raw commodity exports towards development based on the production and trade of high-quality goods.
According to him, the GTTC could not remain on the sidelines of this requirement and confirmed that the quality checks would not constitute additional harassment for transport operators. The agreement positions the land freight sector as a partner in safeguarding standards, with implications for trade competitiveness, consumer protection and the integrity of Cameroon’s domestic market.
Mercy Fosoh
