(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon was ranked the best performer for cotton production in the Cemac region last year with 350,000 tons of seed cotton. According to the Composite Commodity Price Index (ICCPB) recently published by the central bank Beac, the country accounted for 73.4% of the total volume produced in the region.

The other cotton producers in the region are Chad, which accounted for 26.4% with 123,100 tons, and CAR, which only provided about 0.3% of the total volume (1,300 tons). “The largest share of the fiber generated from cotton in Cameroon is bought by Asian countries, mainly China (38%), Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia," INS said. The first country has been Cameroon's key trade partner for several years. In 2019, for example, it absorbed 18.4% (22% in 2018) of Cameroonian exports, ahead of Italy (12.2%) and India (11%). That year, the exports shipped to China consisted mainly of crude petroleum oils (56.7%), liquefied natural gas (23.6%), raw wood (9.1%), sawn wood (5.2%), and raw cotton (3.4%).