Cameroon’s Diesel Import Costs Jump 31.5%, Widening the Gap With Pump Prices

Cameroon’s diesel import cost rose 31.5% in two months to CFA860.10 per liter in September 2026, widening the gap between the cost of imported fuel and the regulated price paid by consumers. The increase came as the retail price remained fixed at CFA828 per liter in Douala.

The import cost rose by CFA206.25 per liter from CFA653.85 in July. That increase fed directly into the “state support/reimbursement” line in the official price structure published by the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund (CSPH). The adjustment reached CFA315.47 per liter of diesel in September, up from CFA109.22 in July, the latest detailed monthly price structure we were able to verify before September. It therefore nearly tripled in two months.

Retail prices at the Douala-Bonabéri depot remained unchanged at CFA840 per liter for gasoline, CFA828 for diesel and CFA350 for kerosene. For diesel, most of the increase came from costs upstream in the import chain. The average benchmark price used in the formula rose from CFA487.08 per liter in July to CFA606 in September, an increase of CFA118.92, or 24.4%. The importer premium climbed from CFA58.14 to CFA128.44 per liter, an additional CFA70.30.

Together, those two components accounted for CFA189.22 of the CFA206.25 increase in the import cost, or 91.7%. As a result, the price of imported diesel before duties, taxes and other charges rose from CFA545.22 to CFA734.44 per liter.

The increase came amid tighter conditions in the international diesel market. S&P Global estimated global diesel inventories at 542 million barrels as of August 21, down 28.5 million barrels from a year earlier. Russian exports fell to 504,600 metric tons in August from 743,000 tons in July, while Moscow extended its diesel export ban through September 30. African import markets are among those exposed to the contraction in supply.

After customs duties, value-added tax, other customs levies and import service costs, diesel reached CFA860.10 per liter in September. That was already CFA32.10 above the final pump price of CFA828, even before storage, domestic transportation and distribution costs were added.

A CFA315-per-Liter Adjustment

The price structure nevertheless reduces diesel’s tax-inclusive entry price at the Cameroon Petroleum Depots Company (SCDP) to CFA565.37 per liter through the “state support/reimbursement” line, set at negative CFA315.47. Between July and September, that adjustment increased by exactly CFA206.25 per liter, the same amount as the rise in the import cost.

This reflects the stabilization mechanism described by the CSPH. According to the agency, the system sets a transfer price for the importer and compensates for any positive difference between the importer’s actual cost and that transfer price, an amount generally described as a revenue shortfall.

The CFA315.47 recorded in the price structure, however, cannot automatically be treated as an actual budget expenditure disbursed by the government during the month. It represents the per-liter adjustment required to balance the pricing formula at the regulated price. Calculating the government’s actual financial burden would require data on volumes released for consumption and compensation amounts approved or paid to operators.

Kerosene recorded the largest per-liter gap. Its imported cost reached CFA737.14 per liter in September, while its retail price remained CFA350. The “state support/reimbursement” line stood at CFA527.47 per liter, although that was below CFA662.50 in May and CFA548.03 in June.

The increase was more limited for gasoline. Its import cost rose from CFA549.63 per liter in July to CFA586.83 in September, an increase of CFA37.20, or 6.8%. The support adjustment rose in parallel from CFA52.79 to CFA89.99 per liter, while the retail price remained CFA840.

Other components changed little. Gasoline and diesel each carry CFA54.50 per liter in transport equalization costs. The special tax on petroleum products stands at CFA110 per liter for gasoline and CFA65 for diesel. All three fuels also include CFA47.88 per liter in refinery support, while gasoline and diesel each carry an additional CFA22.50 per liter for infrastructure modernization.

Baudouin Enama