On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the president of the Groupement des Entreprises du Cameroun (GECAM) painted a grim picture of the country’s economic conditions, highlighting severe obstacles to development.

According to the GECAM leader, Cameroon’s growth rate fell to 3.1% in 2025, down from 3.5% in 2024. He described this pace as far too slow to meet the 2035 emergence target. For context, sub-Saharan Africa is expected to average 4.5% growth, while the UEMOA zone projects 6.4%. In contrast, the CEMAC region—where Cameroon is the largest economy—is forecast to grow at only 2.6%.

This weak performance is largely due to the collapse of the oil sector. Hydrocarbon activity contracted by 6.9% in 2025, following a steep 9.7% decline in 2024. The GECAM president argued that oil is no longer the primary driver of Cameroon’s economy.

286,000 tonnes

Other sectors are equally troubling. In the primary sector, growth dropped from 3.6% to 1.7% in one year. Industrial agriculture and export crops fell from +8.7% in 2024 to -3.2% in 2025, driven by adverse weather and lower export volumes.

Cotton has become a key symbol of the downturn. Production reached only 286,000 tonnes, well below the target of 400,000 tonnes. Export volumes plummeted 24%, and the value of exports nosedived 29.8%.

1.7% to 2%

“Even the most successful sectors show vulnerabilities. The cocoa campaign posted a record production of 309,518 tonnes, but export volumes dropped 9%, although export value rose 18% thanks to higher global prices. Coffee followed a similar pattern: production increased from 10,562 to 11,637 tonnes, yet export volumes decreased 2%, offset by a 3.9% revenue gain,” explained the business leader.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s food dependency continues to grow. Maize imports jumped 4.5%, underscoring persistent struggles with national food security, according to GECAM. The industrial sector also fails to serve as an engine for economic transformation. Its growth inched up from 1.7% to 2%, while manufacturing slowed from 2.9% to 2.2%. The business association attributes these issues to high energy costs, logistical hurdles, financing constraints, and a lack of competitiveness in the productive apparatus.

Tags: Célestin Tawamba, Croissance, Économie camerounaise, Gecam, secteur pétrolier

By Mariama Hamani — Analyst