(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s Ministry of Trade has called on local producers, associations, and cooperatives to take advantage of a new cassava export opportunity with India. In a press release signed by Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, which was made public on December 2, 2025, the Ministry announced that a major Indian food-import company intends to import large volumes of dehydrated cassava from Cameroon for use in cattle and dairy feed production. The ministry stressed that this initiative could generate valuable foreign currency and create jobs. The ministry further invited interested associations, especially of women and youth, to engage with the Division of Studies and Projects to take advantage of the offer.
This move comes amid efforts to strengthen trade ties between Cameroon and India. In September 2025, India exported goods worth $50.6 million to Cameroon and imported $31.3 million, resulting in a positive trade balance of $19.3 million. Compared to September 2024, Indian exports to Cameroon rose by 61.1%, while imports from Cameroon surged by 309%, mainly due to crude petroleum and agricultural products. According to UN COMTRADE data, Cameroon’s exports to India reached $475.5 million in 2023, dominated by mineral fuels but increasingly supported by agricultural commodities such as cotton and rubber.
National statistics show that India remains Cameroon’s third-largest export destination, accounting for 9.6 per cent of Cameroon’s export market share in 2023, and the second-largest source of imports, with 11.6 per cent of Cameroon’s total import market share.
The economic backdrop for the cassava export deal is particularly relevant. Data published by the country’s National Institute of Statistics, NIS, shows that in 2023 Cameroon’s trade deficit ballooned to FCFA 2,004 billion, up 40.3 per cent relative to 2022, as export earnings fell by 14.2 per cent while import expenditures rose 1.7 per cent. Over-reliance on hydrocarbons and extractives remains entrenched: in 2023, crude oil, liquefied natural gas, cocoa and wood accounted for nearly all export value, with hydrocarbons alone making up 37.7 per cent of total exports.
In contrast, the agro-food sector is showing tangible signs of a turnaround. According to NIS-derived figures, Cameroon’s agro-food exports surged to FCFA 532.2 billion in 2024, nearly double the amount recorded in 2019, driven by rising shipments of cocoa, plant-based products, and other food commodities. This shift highlights a growing diversification away from extractives and underscores the government’s push to expand agro-industry as a pillar of sustainable growth.
Economic experts note that in this context, the new agreement with the Indian food-import company to export dehydrated cassava represents more than a commercial transaction, as it presents a strategic opportunity to strengthen non-oil export capacities, broaden the country’s commodity basket, and tap into more stable and resilient demand markets.
Mercy Fosoh
