Resources and Trade

Cameroon is a large exporter of logs to China and the European Union “around 60% of its raw timber is shipped to China and 80% of processed wood goes to European Union countries”.[1] “Three-quarters of the population use wood for cooking fuel” since electricity is not available in all parts of Cameroon and is commonly made in “hydro-electric plants”.[2] Cameroon is known for its coffee and cocoa although they make a small amount compared to other countries. “Key agricultural exports include coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, rubber and palm oil”.[3]  It is “one of the world’s major suppliers of wood (along with Brazil and Indonesia)”.[4] Since wood is a common export, the number of trees cut is being limited to prevent forest extinction. This leads to people illegally cutting down trees for profit.  

The CIA website shared: “Modest oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions provide Cameroon with one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in Sub-Saharan Africa”.[5] “Oil remains Cameroon’s main export commodity…[it] still accounts for nearly 40% of export earnings”.[6] Its “agriculture- products [were]: coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, cassava (manioc, tapioca); livestock; timber”. Its “industries[were]: petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair”.[7]

           “Over the 1995–2012 period, oil represented 39 percent of the country's exports and 17 percent of its imports, while timber represented 18 percent of its exports and 4 percent of its imports…”[8]

“The top exports of Cameroon are Crude Petroleum, Cocoa Beans, Sawn Wood, Refined Petroleum and Bananas…” “Its top imports are Crude Petroleum, Refined Petroleum, Non-fillet Frozen Fish, Rice, and Telephones”.[9]

         “The top export destinations of Cameroon are Spain, China, India, the Netherlands, and Italy” and “the top import origins are China, Nigeria, France, the United States and Thailand”.[10] 

           From 2009 to 2014 “the exports of Cameroon increased at an annualized rate of 9.2%, from $3.79B in 2009 to $5.88B in 2014.” It became “the 108^th largest exporter in the world…in 2014 Cameroon exported $5.88B…led by Crude Petroleum which represent[ed] 45.1% of the total exports of Cameroon, followed by Cocoa Beans, which account[ed] for 10.2%”.[11]

         “With the vision of 2035, Cameroon Government, like most of those developing nations, had an objective to achieve sustainable economic development and the poverty reduction. As International trade appears to be one of the means available to developing nations to reach such goals, they can attempt to reduce poverty by raising its share in the world’s total exports.”[12]

          Interestingly “Cameroon's exports to the United States include petroleum, cocoa, rubber, timber, and coffee while imports from the United States include machinery, chemicals, aircraft, vehicles, and plastics. The United States is a leading investor in Cameroon, largely through the Chad-Cameroon petroleum pipeline project. The United States and Cameroon have a bilateral investment treaty.”[13]

---

[1] “Economy & Industry,” Our Africa, last modified n/a, accessed February 9, 2017, http://www.our-africa.org/cameroon/economy-industry. Paragraph 9

[2] “Economy & Industry,” Our Africa, last modified n/a, accessed February 9, 2017, http://www.our-africa.org/cameroon/economy-industry. Paragraph 3

[3] “Economy & Industry,” Our Africa, last modified n/a, accessed February 9, 2017, http://www.our-africa.org/cameroon/economy-industry. Paragraph 10

[4] “Economy & Industry,” Our Africa, last modified n/a, accessed February 9, 2017, http://www.our-africa.org/cameroon/economy-industry. Paragraph 8

[5] “The World Factbook: Cameroon: Economy,” Central Intelligence Agency. Last modified January 12, 2017. Accessed February 9, 2017. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html. Paragraph 1

[6] “The World Factbook: Cameroon: Economy,” Central Intelligence Agency. Last modified January 12, 2017. Accessed February 9, 2017. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html. Paragraph 1

[7] “The World Factbook: Cameroon: Economy,” Central Intelligence Agency. Last modified January 12, 2017. Accessed February 9, 2017. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html.

[8] Hans Tino Ayamena Mpenya, Clarisse Metseyem, and Boniface Ngah Epo, “Natural Resources and Capital Flight in Cameroon.” African Development Review, no. 28 (April 2016): 4, accessed February 10, 2017, Wiley Online Library.

[9] Alexander Simoes, “Cameroon,” The Observatory of Economic Complexity, last modified 2014, accessed February 10, 2017, http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/cmr/.  Paragraph 2

[10] Alexander Simoes, “Cameroon,” The Observatory of Economic Complexity, last modified 2014, accessed February 10, 2017, http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/cmr/.  Paragraph 3

[11] Alexander Simoes, “Cameroon,” The Observatory of Economic Complexity, last modified 2014, accessed February 10, 2017, http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/cmr/.  Paragraph 5

[12] Eric Dombe Doumbe, and Thierry Belinga, “A Gravity Model Analysis for Trade between Cameroon and Twenty-Eight European Union Countries,” Open Journal of Social Sciences, (August 2015): 1-2. accessed February 10, 2017, http://file.scirp.org/pdf/JSS_2015082013465352.pdf.

[13] “U.S. Relations With Cameroon,” U.S. Department of State: Diplomacy in Action, last modified January 15, 2016. Accessed February 10, 2017. https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26431.htm. Paragraph 3