The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motazé, signed a new decision on 1 September 2022, extending the 80% reduction on freight costs to be integrated in the customs value of goods imported by sea until 30 November 2022. This third extension comes after those signed on 28 February and 3 June 2022.

As a reminder, this measure was initially introduced on 16 November 2021, given the "unprecedented increase in international freight rates", as explained by the Minister of Finance. The Cameroonian government is using this measure to help mitigate the additional charges incurred by business persons as a result of the gloomy post-Covid 19 situation worldwide, exacerbated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Cameroon’s trade minister affirms that the 80% reduction in the freight cost to be taken into account in determining the customs value of goods imported by sea is a response to complaints tabled by the Cameroon Employers' Association (Gicam), the country's largest employers' body.

In a press release issued on 9 November 2021, Gicam revealed that companies in various sectors of activity were facing an "unprecedented increase in the price of imported products and sea freight, with increases ranging from 20 to 400%”. Faced with this reality, the employers' association envisaged "putting a halt on import and production activities on 1 January 2022", if companies "were to continue business at their own peril".

Source: Business in Cameroon