Average annual production of bananas currently stands at approximately 300,000 tonnes in Cameroon, with a value of CFA Fr170bn (€260m).
However, the government has revealed plans to increase production to 500,000 tonnes by 2013, and therefore boost exports, reports Afriquinfos.
According to the director of the African Centre for Research on Bananas and Plantains (CARBAF), Daniel Ngou Ngoupayou, Europe is currently the largest market for Cameroonian banana exports, but producers are aware of the challenges that lie in wait.
'If the Cameroonian sector does not reach the level of competitiveness of its Latin American rivals, there is a risk of the market becoming less accessible in the coming years due to the reduction in the tariff protection enjoyed by ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) producers,' he said.
Nevertheless, Cameroon does enjoy a regional market offered by neighboring countries such as Nigeria, Gabon and Chad.
Cameroon exported some 247,210 tonnes of fresh bananas in 2011, reaching a peak in 2003 of 313,700 tonnes, but the country has now fallen behind Ivory Coast and Ghana in Africa.
In order to achieve the government target of 500,000 tonnes in 2013, the CDC has invested almost CFA Fr15bn (€23m) in new projects to boost productivity, with the aim of increasing volumes from from 170,000 to 320,000 tonnes in 2013.
