• 2026 budget introduces a 25%–35% cut in the annual forestry fee
• Incentive targets certified operators to curb illegal logging
• Past underreporting cost Cameroon over $302 million in lost revenue

Cameroon has introduced a tax incentive in its 2026 finance law to encourage sustainable forest management and reduce illegal logging. Starting January 1, 2026, a reduction of between 25% and 35% will apply to the annual forestry fee paid to the state by logging companies, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé said in a circular on budget execution.

According to the document published on December 31, 2025, companies holding a valid logging permit will receive a 25% reduction on the annual forestry royalty. The reduction increases to 35% for operators that can demonstrate sustainable forest management certification. The finance minister said the measure is intended to encourage sustainable use of forest resources.

The tax relief comes as authorities face persistent losses linked to illegal and non-compliant logging practices. In a 2021 report, the National Agency for Financial Investigation recalled that a March 2019 letter from the minister of territorial administration called for disciplinary or criminal proceedings against individuals involved in illegal forestry and wildlife exploitation. That activity was estimated to cost the Cameroonian state nearly CFA33 billion each year in lost revenue.

More than $302 million in losses from underreporting

Environmental groups say illegal logging is not the main source of fiscal losses in the sector. They point instead to widespread underreporting of timber volumes, which allows some operators to conceal part of their turnover and reduce associated tax obligations.

In a 2020 report, the Environmental Investigation Agency and the Centre for the Environment and Development estimated that between 2014 and 2017, underreported declarations resulted in losses of more than CFA170 billion, or about $302 million, for Cameroon. The estimate relates solely to timber exports to Vietnam and is based on discrepancies between export and import values declared by the two countries.

The report, titled Stolen Wood, Tainted Temples: The Harmful Consequences of Cameroon–Vietnam Timber Trade, published in late 2020, describes a trade that contributes little to public revenue due to largely clandestine financial transactions.

According to the document, timber trade between Cameroon and Vietnam does little to boost state revenues, as transactions are often carried out in cash and rely on false declarations. Between 2014 and 2017, Cameroonian exporters declared $308 million less than Vietnamese importers, equivalent to more than CFA170 billion.

Beyond declaration gaps, the report attributes other illegal practices to Vietnamese forestry operators active in Cameroon, including violations of export laws, tax evasion, illegal logging, encroachment on protected areas, and money laundering disguised through documentation.

The authors also note a rapid shift in trade flows. Within a few years, Vietnam became the second-largest market for Cameroonian timber after China, while Cameroon became Vietnam’s leading supplier of tropical logs. From 2016 to 2019, Cameroonian logs accounted for about 25% of Vietnam’s tropical log imports, replacing species previously sourced from Southeast Asia.

Brice R. Mbodiam, Business in Cameroon