• China lifts its market share from 23.8% in 2016 to 52.5% in 2024, gaining 28.7 points.

• Imports of industrial machines more than double, rising from 243.7 bn CFA in 2010 to 512.8 bn CFA in 2024 (INS estimate: 573.6 bn CFA).

• Cameroon exempts EU equipment from all customs duties since August 4, 2023, yet EU market share falls nearly 20 points over eight years.

Cameroon sees China and the European Union dominate its industrial equipment market. China records a dramatic rise between 2016 and 2024 and gradually pushes its competitors into secondary positions.

China increases its share of Cameroon’s machinery and equipment imports by 28.7 points between 2016 and 2024, according to the 2024 Competitiveness Report of the Committee for Competitiveness, a think tank attached to the Ministry of Economy. China expands its share from 23.8% in 2016 to 52.5% in 2024, becoming the country’s top supplier of industrial machines.

This surge comes at the expense of the European Union. The EU holds a 50.1% share in 2016, but its portion falls to 29.3% in 2023 before slightly recovering to 32.3% in 2024. Over eight years, the drop approaches 20 points.

Cameroon begins implementing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU in 2016. These agreements require Cameroon to gradually remove customs duties on 80% of European imports over 15 years in exchange for preferential access to the European market for its exports. Machinery and industrial equipment fall within the category of liberalized goods.

Rising Industrial Capacity Shapes Demand

The tariff dismantling begins on August 4, 2017, with an annual 15% cut of the applicable customs duty. Since August 4, 2023, Cameroon exempts EU industrial equipment from all customs duties. In theory, this exemption should strengthen the position of European suppliers.

However, the Committee for Competitiveness notes that “we observe an erosion of the EU share in Cameroonian imports of machinery and equipment, and a rise of China,” despite the EPA’s entry into force in 2016. Local manufacturers cite a strong price-competitiveness advantage for Chinese equipment. Operators also highlight easier and cheaper access to spare parts, which makes maintenance simpler than with European equipment.

Beyond shifts in suppliers, the combination of EPAs and competitive Chinese pricing boosts productive investment. Purchases of machinery and equipment continue to increase. The Committee states that “the overall growth in imports of machines and equipment (…) reflects a continuous effort to modernize Cameroon’s production capacity.”

The Burden of Maintenance Challenges

The Committee reports that imports more than double between 2010 and 2024, rising from CFA243.7 billion in 2010 to CFA512.8 billion in 2024. The National Institute of Statistics (INS) provides a higher estimate of CFA573.6 billion for 2024, which marks the largest volume of industrial equipment purchases in six years. Between the pre-EPA period (2010–2015) and the post-EPA period (2017–2024), these imports grow by 22% on average.

Yet this growth masks a more concerning trend: the deterioration of production tools. According to the INS report on the “economic and financial situation of companies in 2023,” despite rising investment, “the deterioration of production equipment continues, rising from 59.6% in 2022 to 60.1% in 2023.” In practical terms, six out of ten pieces of equipment recorded in companies operate in poor condition. Maintenance challenges often drive this deterioration and trigger productivity losses, revenue declines, market shortages and occasional technical layoffs.

Brice R. Mbodiam (Business in Cameroun)