Banana Production: Cameroon Targets 500,000 Tons Annually by 2013

Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Trade, on Wednesday January 11 launched the 2012 banana season in Limbe amidst Cameroon’s major producers; the CDC (Cameroon Development Corporation), the PHP (Penja Banana Plantations), and the SPM (Mbanga Banana Plantations). He underscored the challenges that await producers namely to maintain the banana sector on the lead as a major cash crop export. As such, he advocated inter-professional solidarity amongst producers and urged that the target production of 500,000 tons annually be met in line with government directives.

On his part, Mr. Henry Njalla Quan, President of Cameroon's Banana Producers (ASSOBACAM) and General Manager of the CDC, underscored the great employment that the banana sector offers to Cameroonians (13,243 workers) on a total banana cultivation surface of 7,404 hectares. He noted that Cameroon exported 247,210 tons of bananas in 2011 mainly to Europe. He affirmed that the producers were working to respect the target of 500,000 tons prescribed by government by 2013. He explained that banana production in Cameroon today is carried out by both the public and private sectors. In the case of the public sector, the CDC operates the Tiko Banana Project in partnership with Delmonte as well as the Banana Expansion Project, wholly owned by the CDC. Meanwhile, in the private domain, banana is produced by the PHP Group, SPM and the BOH Plantations.

Challenges

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