Célestin Tawamba issues stark warning on Cameroon’s economic decline

On Tuesday, 23 June 2026, the president of the Groupement des Entreprises du Cameroun (GECAM) delivered a sobering assessment of the disastrous conditions stifling the nation’s economy.

According to the GECAM president, Cameroon’s growth slipped to 3.1% in 2025, down from 3.5% in 2024 — a pace he deems insufficient to meet the country’s 2035 emergence target. For context, sub-Saharan Africa is projected to average 4.5% growth, while the UEMOA region is expected to reach 6.4%. In contrast, the CEMAC bloc, of which Cameroon is the largest economy, will only manage 2.6%.

This underperformance is largely driven by the collapse of the oil sector. The hydrocarbons branch shrank by 6.9% in 2025, following a 9.7% contraction in 2024, confirming that oil is no longer the primary engine of growth, the GECAM leader noted.

286,000 tonnes

Other sectors also paint a worrying picture. In the primary sector, growth halved from 3.6% to 1.7% in just one year. Industrial and export agriculture turned sharply from +8.7% in 2024 to -3.2% in 2025, hit by adverse climate conditions and falling exports in several value chains.

Cotton stands out as a key symbol of this deterioration. Production reached only 286,000 tonnes, far below the 400,000-tonne target. Export volumes plunged 24%, while the value of exports collapsed by 29.8%.

1.7% to 2%

“Even the most performing sectors reveal underlying fragilities. The cocoa campaign posted a record production of 309,518 tonnes, yet export volumes declined by 9%, despite an 18% rise in export value thanks to soaring global prices. Coffee follows a similar trend: production grew from 10,562 to 11,637 tonnes, while export volumes dipped 2%, offset by a 3.9% increase in revenue,” the head of GECAM explained.

Meanwhile, Cameroon continues to increase its food dependency. Maize imports rose by 4.5%, underscoring persistent challenges in achieving national food security, according to GECAM. The industrial sector also struggles to play its role as a driver of economic transformation. Its growth barely inched from 1.7% to 2%, while manufacturing slowed from 2.9% to 2.2%. The employers’ association attributes this to high energy costs, logistical hurdles, financing constraints, and a lack of competitiveness in the productive apparatus.