The decision of the Minister of Finance to reduce by 80% freight rates to be integrated into the calculation of the customs value of imported goods, which was initially taken on 16 November 2021 for a period of six months and then extended three times in a row, caused a loss of CFAF 8 billion to the Cameroonian Treasury in 2022. This figure was revealed on January 9, 2023 in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, during the first coordination meeting of the heads of central and decentralized services of the Directorate General of Customs, for the year 2023.

As a reminder, Minister Motazé explained that this measure was taken in a "context of unprecedented increase in international freight rates. Through this decision, we were told, the Cameroonian government was trying to mitigate the additional costs imposed on business persons due to a gloomy post-Covid 19 global situation, aggravated by the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

The Finance Minister also said that this measure was a response to complaints expressed by the Cameroon Employers’ Association (Gicam). In a press release issued on 9 November 2021, Gicam revealed that companies in various sectors of activity were facing an "unprecedented rise in the price of imported products and sea freight rates, with increases ranging from 20 to 400%". Faced with this reality, the employers' association contemplated “purely and simply stopping import and production activities on 1 January 2022”, if local companies “will have to operate at a loss".

Source: Business in Cameroon