Market Overview
Cameroon is the largest economy in the six-nation Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). With a population of over 19.1 million people its GDP (at purchasing power parity) for 2010 is estimated at $41.9 billion by the Heritage Foundation. It is projected to grow 3.0 % in 2011. Cameroon boasts one of the highest per capita incomes (by purchasing power parity) in sub-Saharan Africa, at $2,300 (2010). The official unemployment rate stands at 4.5% although other sources put it as high as 75%. Inflation rate for 2010 stood at 3.0. FDI flows stood at $260 million.
Cameroon has a wealth of natural resources, including rich potential in the agricultural, forestry, and mining sectors, an ample labor force, and an enviable location between large markets in Nigeria to the west and Central Africa to the south and east. Cameroon is often described as “Africa in Miniature” because of its unparalleled ethnic, linguistic, and geographic diversity.
The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) sets monetary policy for Cameroon and other CEMAC members. The country’s currency, the Franc Communauté Financiere Africaine (FCFA), is managed by BEAC and conversion is guaranteed at a flat exchange rate of 655.957 FCFA to the Euro by the Treasury of the Government of France.
Cameroon’s major exports are oil, timber and cash crops such as cocoa, coffee, , rubber, cotton, and bananas. Cameroon imports mainly semi-processed products, industrial inputs, machinery, and food products. The European Union is Cameroon’s main trading partner with about 60 percent of the total share of trade. France is by far Cameroon's major supplier of imported goods and services. United States trade with Cameroon has increased with the advent of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), but many of the potential benefits of AGOA remain under-realized. U.S. imports from Cameroon recorded a slight increase from $249.7 million in 2009 to $ 291.3 million in 2010 while exports dropped from $153.5 million in 2009 to $113.4 million in 2010, according to the U.S. census bureau.
A committee commissioned by the Government of Cameroon in May 2007 ranked the United States as the largest single foreign investor in Cameroon, in large part due to the substantial American equity in the Chad-Cameroon pipeline and the power sector. There are several large American investment projects underway in mining and energy..
Yaounde is the nation’s political capital, but Douala, the largest city, serves as the economic capital of Cameroon and the Central African region. Almost all cargo shipped to Chad, and the Central African Republic transit through Douala’s port, located slightly inland from the Gulf of Guinea, on the banks of the Wouri River. Cameroon is well-served by mobile service providers and access to the Internet, including broadband, is available in the major cities, although problems with capacity often hamper services.
Cameroon is a republic, with a strong central government headed by President Paul Biya, who has been in office since 1982. The ten Regions (formerly “Provinces”) are governed by appointed Governors, and the larger cities are supervised by appointed Government Delegates subordinated by elected Mayors. Although the Constitution provides for a National Assembly (Parliament), a Senate, and a constitutional court, these constitutional provisions have not yet been implemented. The government’s judiciary arm suffers from overwhelming executive influence.