This decline of 671 million euros, equivalent to nearly 440 billion CFA francs, represents a 46% drop. The underperformance places the country second in terms of the largest value declines recorded by the EU institution, just behind Côte d'Ivoire and ahead of Nigeria, reflecting a regional trend linked to the evolution of commodity markets.


The fall in trade value is primarily attributable to the structure of the national export sector, largely dominated by the cocoa value chain. In 2025, cocoa and its derivatives accounted for over 90% of the total value of agri-food deliveries to the European space. However, the recent period has been characterized by a sharp decline in global prices, falling to about half of their historical peak reached in spring 2025. Although statistical data measure above all the nominal value of European purchases without strictly isolating the respective impact of volumes and prices, the correlation between the cocoa bean market correction and the decline in overall invoicing is manifest.


The evolution of these flows highlights the structural challenges of diversifying agri-food exports and the need to strengthen local processing to absorb exogenous shocks. If the contraction in revenues impoverishes the nominal value of export transactions, it reminds economic authorities of the imperative to accelerate on-site valorization of raw materials in order to sustain the country's external macroeconomic balances.


Nlend Flore

Tags: commerce extérieur importations agroalimentaires ue cameroun cacao cameroun baisse exportations prix cacao dépendance cacao diversification exportations transformation locale fluctuations marché