Cameroon’s palm oil output surges in Q1 2025 but remains insufficient to meet demand
Despite this progress, the output remains insufficient to meet the country’s burgeoning domestic demand for palm oil, underscoring a persistent supply-demand imbalance.
CAMEROON – Cameroon’s crude palm oil production has seen a remarkable surge in early 2025, tripling to reach 77,630 tons in the first quarter according to the Ministry of Finance’s quarterly economic bulletin.
This sharp increase is primarily attributed to the peak harvest season and marks a significant boost compared to previous quarters.
Despite this progress, the output remains insufficient to meet the country’s burgeoning domestic demand for palm oil, underscoring a persistent supply-demand imbalance.
However, the production figure for the first quarter of 2025, while tripled quarter-on-quarter, actually reflects a 10.6% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Forecasts further predict a slight decline in total production by around 2% by the end of 2025.
This production shortfall has led Cameroon to remain reliant on imports to fill the growing gap between supply and demand.
Cameroon’s domestic palm oil production in 2024 was reported at 446,984 tons by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute. Yet, demand outstrips supply by a significant margin, with industry estimates pointing to a structural deficit exceeding 500,000 tons annually.
This shortage forces Cameroon to depend heavily on palm oil imports, mainly from neighboring African countries such as Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon.
In response to these challenges, Cameroon has launched initiatives such as the establishment of Interpalm-Cam, the country’s first interprofessional body for the palm oil sector.
Interpalm-Cam is coordinating efforts to enhance national production, improve the quality of palm oil, and ultimately reduce the country’s dependency on imports.
These efforts are complemented by the government-backed 2024-2026 palm oil recovery program funded with 21.7 billion XAF (Central African CFA francs).
This program supports major agro-industrial operators, including CDC, Socapalm, and Pamol, by modernizing palm oil processing facilities and improving yield efficiencies.
Additionally, Cameroon is expanding its palm oil refining capacity, with about 15 refining units either operational or under construction, signaling a strategic push towards greater palm oil self-sufficiency.
However, experts emphasize that without a long-term coherent supply strategy, Cameroon risks continued vulnerability to global market fluctuations and the economic strain of import dependence.
Despite the tripling of production early in 2025, Cameroon still faces an uphill battle to fully meet its domestic palm oil demand, highlighting the need for sustained government and industry collaboration to close the supply gap and boost local production capabilities.
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