Cameroon Dominates CEMAC Preferential Trade List With 72% of Approved Products

Cameroon now accounts for 1,328 of the 1,834 products approved for preferential treatment under the trade regime of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). That represents 72.4% of the CEMAC total, based on figures presented by the Trade Ministry on September 10, 2026, putting the country well ahead of the bloc’s five other members. The tally includes 120 products made by 14 companies operating in Cameroon, which received their approval certificates at a ceremony in Yaounde chaired by Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana. The latest approvals bring the number of Cameroonian companies benefiting from the scheme since 2014 to 91.

In May 2025, Cameroon had 1,208 approved products, according to the CEMAC Commission. The number has risen 9.9% in 16 months. The new approvals followed a May 2026 session of the Regional Committee on Origin in Douala. They cover products ranging from processed foods and metals to beer, cement, rubber, aluminum, hygiene products and foam products.

More Than Two-Thirds of Approved Companies Are in Cameroon

Of the 133 companies listed across the six CEMAC countries, 91 are based in Cameroon, or 68.4%. Gabon ranks second with 14 companies and 249 approved products. Equatorial Guinea follows with 11 companies and 109 products, while Congo also has 11 companies, with 103 products.

Chad has four companies and 31 approved products, compared with two companies and 14 products in the Central African Republic. Cameroon therefore has more than five times as many approved products as Gabon, according to figures reported by Business & Finance International on September 11, 2026. Mbarga Atangana said the figures were “clear evidence of the strength of the country’s business sector.” He also said they showed that regional integration was becoming increasingly tangible for Cameroon’s economy.

The figures, however, measure approvals rather than exports. No data on sales generated through the scheme were released at the ceremony, including their value, volume or main destinations. The 72.4% share therefore cannot be interpreted as Cameroon’s share of trade among CEMAC countries.

A Customs Advantage That Does Not Guarantee Sales

Approval is granted product by product to industrial companies operating within CEMAC, subject to compliance with the bloc’s rules of origin. It allows eligible goods to enter other member-state markets without customs duties or quantitative restrictions.

Regulations adopted in October 2024 and published by CEMAC in January 2025 provide for approval without a time limit. The authorization can nevertheless be suspended or withdrawn if the conditions required for CEMAC origin status are no longer met.

The customs exemption reduces the cost of accessing the regional market. It does not eliminate transport costs, health and technical inspections, or difficulties moving goods across borders. Approval also does not guarantee that products will find buyers in the five other countries.

A Stated Priority for AfCFTA, Without Automatic Recognition

The trade minister also presented CEMAC approval as a first step toward the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He said companies already approved under CEMAC’s preferential regime would be given priority when seeking approved-exporter status under the continental framework.

That stated priority does not exempt products from complying with AfCFTA’s own rules of origin. CEMAC approval does not automatically qualify a product as originating under AfCFTA rules, as specified in the rules-of-origin manual published by the African Union.

Approved-exporter status mainly allows a company to issue its own declarations of origin regardless of the value of the shipment. In return, it must provide the required guarantees and remains subject to checks by the competent authorities.

Brice R. Mbodiam