Cameroon banana exports rise 17.6% to 122,001 tonnes in first half of 2026
Cameroon exported 122,001 tonnes of bananas in the first half of 2026, up 17.6% year on year. Subsidiaries of Compagnie Fruitière generated nearly all the increase, while state-owned CDC recorded more modest growth.
Shipments gain 21,437 tonnes
Cameroon exported 122,001 tonnes of bananas between January and June 2026, an increase of 17.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Cameroon Banana Association, Assobacam. First-half shipments rose by 21,437 tonnes from 100,564 tonnes in 2025, strengthening the position of bananas among the country’s principal agricultural exports.
The expansion followed a year in which international banana sales generated CFA67.7 billion for Cameroon. According to the National Institute of Statistics, that 2025 revenue was 84.7% higher than a year earlier. The available first-half 2026 data cover physical volumes rather than earnings, but the additional shipments are expected to increase revenue for producers and the state.
Compagnie Fruitière subsidiaries lead growth
Plantations du Haut Penja, or PHP, remained Cameroon’s largest banana producer and exporter. The Compagnie Fruitière subsidiary shipped 86,267 tonnes through June, compared with 70,857 tonnes in the first half of 2025. The gain of 15,410 tonnes represented year-on-year growth of 18% and accounted for most of the national increase.
Compagnie des Bananes de Mondoni, the French group’s second local subsidiary, recorded faster percentage growth. CDBM exported 14,621 tonnes, up from 9,336 tonnes a year earlier. Its additional 5,285 tonnes amounted to a 36.1% increase. Together, PHP and CDBM added 20,695 tonnes, equivalent to nearly all of Cameroon’s first-half export growth.
Business in Cameroon and Investir au Cameroun linked the subsidiaries’ performance to stronger production and the acquisition of Boh Plantations Plc’s agricultural assets in October 2025. The transaction excluded Boh’s shares and business operations. Boh, previously the country’s fourth-largest banana producer, had exported 5,592 tonnes in the first half of 2025.
CDC recovery remains uneven
State-owned Cameroon Development Corporation exported 21,113 tonnes in the first half, an increase of 742 tonnes, or 3.5%, from 20,371 tonnes a year earlier. Its June volume, however, fell to 3,085 tonnes, the company’s lowest monthly result since the beginning of 2026.
CDC’s performance continues to reflect the consequences of the socio-political crisis affecting Cameroon’s English-speaking regions since late 2016. Separatist unrest disrupted banana, rubber and oil-palm sites, particularly in the Southwest Region, leaving several plantations idle for extended periods and adding financial losses. The contrast with PHP and CDBM shows that Cameroon’s export recovery is concentrated: the two private subsidiaries supplied about 82.7% of the country’s first-half banana shipments, based on Assobacam’s figures, while CDC’s slower rebound remains a constraint on broader production growth.
