Cameroon Spends Less on Cooking Gas Subsidies Despite Rising Demand

Cameroon spent less on subsidizing cooking gas in 2025 despite another year of strong growth in household demand, according to figures released after the June 24 board meeting of the Hydrocarbon Price Stabilization Fund (CSPH).

The agency said it spent CFA48.96 billion to support domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption in 2025, down from CFA52.6 billion a year earlier. The decline of CFA3.64 billion, or 6.92%, marks the second-highest subsidy level in recent years, behind the record CFA75 billion spent in 2022. Subsidies stood at CFA42.5 billion in 2023 before rising again in 2024.

Demand Continues to Grow

The subsidy allows the government to keep the official price of the country’s most widely used cooking gas cylinder at CFA6,500. The measure remains an important social policy as LPG has become the main cooking fuel for many urban and peri-urban households. The lower subsidy bill came despite continued growth in demand. According to the CSPH, cooking gas consumption increased by 13% in 2025 after rising 12% in 2024. In other words, public spending on the subsidy declined even as consumption continued to climb.

The trend suggests that the CSPH’s subsidy costs depend not only on domestic demand, but also on import costs, international market conditions, benchmark prices, and the share of supply provided by local production.

Bipaga Helps Ease Subsidy Costs

One of the main reasons for the lower subsidy bill is the steady increase in local LPG production, particularly at the Bipaga processing center in the South Region, which is operated by the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH).

According to an earlier SNH report, local production reduced LPG subsidy costs by CFA2.236 billion in 2023. That year, the Bipaga facility supplied 34,699 tons of LPG, up nearly 21% from 28,677 tons in 2022. Higher domestic output has helped reduce Cameroon’s dependence on imports and slightly ease the cost of the subsidy. However, the country still relies heavily on imported LPG. The CSPH did not disclose the latest local production figures after its board meeting.

More broadly, the agency said the domestic market was adequately supplied with petroleum products throughout 2025. Consumption of road fuels—including gasoline, kerosene, and diesel—increased by 4%, while cooking gas demand rose 13%. The growing demand comes as the CSPH’s financial performance weakens. Net profit fell from CFA12.9 billion in 2024 to CFA7.13 billion in 2025, a decline of nearly CFA5.8 billion.

The CSPH’s results underscore the government’s ongoing challenge of keeping cooking gas affordable while limiting subsidy costs and reducing reliance on imports. Although the lower subsidy bill is an encouraging sign, it is still too early to conclude that Cameroon has achieved a lasting reduction in the cost of supporting household LPG consumption.

Ludovic Amara