Cameroon’s palm oil sector suffered a sharp setback in the second quarter of 2025, with national crude palm oil production falling by nearly 40%, highlighting persistent structural weaknesses in one of the country’s most strategic agro-industrial industries.
Crude palm oil output declined by 39.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to 46,826 tonnes between April and June 2025, according to the latest Economic Outlook Note published by the Ministry of Finance. The government attributed part of the fall to seasonal factors, noting that production typically peaks in the first quarter of the year.
However, the downturn remains pronounced even after accounting for seasonality. Compared with the same period in 2024, output was down 16 percent, while production for the first half of 2025 contracted by 12.7 percent year-on-year, underlining a sustained slowdown.
Authorities cited two main structural constraints behind the decline. The first is the aging of palm plantations, which has weighed on yields across much of the sector. Many industrial and smallholder plantations are operating beyond their optimal production cycles, with replanting efforts proceeding slowly due to high costs and limited access to long-term financing.
The second constraint concerns growing operational difficulties at Socapalm, Cameroon’s largest palm oil producer. The company has faced increasing challenges in collecting palm nuts from independent smallholders, who supply a significant share of raw material. These growers have been pressing for higher purchase prices, raising tensions within the supply chain and reducing volumes delivered to processing facilities.
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Beyond these immediate factors, the sector continues to grapple with deeper structural challenges. Productivity levels remain low by international standards, while plans to expand cultivated areas are frequently delayed by land access issues and disputes with local communities. In addition, fraudulent cross-border exports divert part of domestic output, exacerbating imbalances between local supply and demand.
Palm oil is a staple product in Cameroon, widely used in household consumption and by food-processing industries. Any sustained shortfall in domestic supply tends to translate into higher prices and increased reliance on imports, with knock-on effects for inflation and the trade balance.
In this context, the anticipated entry of new industrial players could reshape the sector’s outlook. Opalm, a new agribusiness investor, plans to begin construction of a palm oil processing plant in the Nyong-Ekellé department in the Central region in the first quarter of 2026.
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Opalm’s chief executive, Tarek Daoud, said the project is designed to support government efforts to better structure rural economies while expanding national production capacity. According to Daoud, Cameroon currently faces a palm oil deficit of around 300,000 tonnes per year.
The Opalm programme is expected to add about 108,000 tonnes of palm oil to supplies available for local industries, potentially reducing the current shortfall by roughly half. The project is also expected to create jobs and provide new market outlets for smallholder producers, although its impact will depend on how quickly production ramps up.
The commercial stakes are significant. Expanding domestic palm oil production would help curb imports and ease pressure on Cameroon’s external accounts. Agriculture Minister Gabriel Mbairobe has previously estimated annual palm oil imports at around CFA100 billion (about $165 million), placing the commodity among the largest contributors to the country’s trade deficit.
Despite new investments, analysts say addressing structural bottlenecks—particularly plantation renewal, land governance and supply chain pricing—will be critical if Cameroon is to reverse the sector’s decline and move toward self-sufficiency in palm oil.
