Economic trends
Drilling in the offshore oil deposits since the early 1970s had made Cameroon one of the most prosperous tropical African nations, however economic mismanagement and currency over-evaluation have led the country into recession during last few years. The current account balance has diminished, tax deficits have increased and the foreign debt has grown. The government has committed itself to a series of economic reform programs, backed by the World Bank and the IMF. However, public resources are still heavily dependent on oil income, despite the fact that the country's oil production is diminishing. Furthermore, Cameroon is not yet able to attract enough foreign investment, mainly because of insufficient infrastructures and one of the highest levels of corruption in the world.
The international financial crisis affected five Cameroonian economic sectors heavily: aluminum, wood, rubber, cotton and crude oil. During the fourth quarter of 2008, cotton, rubber and aluminum suffered a drop in their export value of 17.5%, 42.5% and 55% respectively. Orders in the wood sector have all been frozen. According to the Ministry of Finance, in 2009 Cameroon's economy is expected to show its worst perfomance since several years.
Main branches of industry
The primary sector contributes almost a quarter of the GDP and employs approximately 50% of the active population. Before the advent of the oil trade, agriculture was the country's economic mainstay. Cameroon remains one of the world's leading producers of certain foodstuffs, namely cocoa, coffee, bananas, palm products, tobacco, rubber and cotton. Fishing and forestry are two of the country's additional important activities. Cameroon's mineral resources include bauxite and iron ore.
The secondary sector accounts for almost a quarter of the GDP. The country's main industries are food processing, sawmill, the manufacture of light consumer goods and textiles.
The tertiary sector accounts for half of the GDP. It benefits from the economic activity created around the Doba/Kribi oil pipeline, which has been operational since July 2004. The services sector is booming with telecommunication, air traffic and transport.
International trade
Cameroon is open to international trade. It is a member of the Commonwealth, the Free Trade Zone (website in French only) and the CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community - website in French only). The share of foreign trade in Cameroon in relation to its GDP is around 50%.
Its three main export partners are Spain, Italy and France. Main export commodities are mineral fuels, oil, wood, coal, cocoa, cotton, and aluminum. Its three main import partners are Nigeria, France and China. Cameroon mainly imports mineral fuels, oil, cereals, vehicles, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment.
The European Union is Cameroons primary trade partner, accounting for more than 50% the of trade, other than the oil trade. On the 15th January 2009, the two entities signed an economic partnership agreement. Consequently, Cameroon has committed itself to liberalizing 80% of imports from this area over a period of 15 years. For some years now, eastern Asia (especially China, Japan, India and Thailand) has been reinforcing its trade ties with Cameroun. Today the area represents 20% of the country's trade total.
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