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Cameroon trade in 2024

In 2024, Cameroon exported $6.9 billion and imported $8.3 billion, a trade deficit of $1.3 billion. It was the world's 118th-largest exporter, with 0.03% of world exports. Its top export was crude petroleum (39% of the total) and its main trading partner was China (31.1% of its trade).

Summary

Exports
$6.9billion
Imports
$8.3billion
Trade balance
-$1.3billion
Routes to the main partners. Width: trade value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand
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Products

What it exports

Crude petroleum (39%) and cocoa beans (18.5%) together make up 57.5% of its exports.

  1. Crude petroleum$2.7 billion · 39%
    Main partner: China
  2. Cocoa beans$1.3 billion · 18.5%
    Main partner: Netherlands
  3. Natural gas and LPG$727 million · 10.5%
    Main partner: India
  4. Sawn wood$424 million · 6.1%
    Main partner: Belgium
  5. Cocoa butter$329 million · 4.8%
    Main partner: France
  6. Cocoa paste$296 million · 4.3%
    Main partner: Netherlands
  7. Gold$248 million · 3.6%
    Main partner: Uganda
  8. Bananas$177 million · 2.6%
    Main partner: France
  9. Refined petroleum$105 million · 1.5%
    Main partner: Central African Republic
  10. Logs$101 million · 1.5%
    Main partner: China

What it imports

Rice (5.9%) and refined petroleum (5.1%) together make up 11% of its imports.

  1. Rice$487 million · 5.9%
    Main partner: Thailand
  2. Refined petroleum$424 million · 5.1%
    Main partner: Belgium
  3. Cane and beet sugar$271 million · 3.3%
    Main partner: Brazil
  4. Wheat$256 million · 3.1%
    Main partner: Poland
  5. Medicines in measured doses or retail packs$217 million · 2.6%
    Main partner: France
  6. Cameras and broadcast equipment$182 million · 2.2%
    Main partner: China
  7. Frozen fish$174 million · 2.1%
    Main partner: Mauritania
  8. Rubber and plastic footwear$148 million · 1.8%
    Main partner: China
  9. Pesticides and herbicides$146 million · 1.8%
    Main partner: China
  10. Cables and wire$120 million · 1.5%
    Main partner: China

Its products

Destinations and sources of its products that have their own page.

By Harmonized System chapter (96)
ChapterExportsImports
27 · Oil, gas and coal$3.5 billion$494 million
18 · Cocoa and chocolate$1.9 billion$7 million
44 · Wood$601 million$5 million
71 · Gems and precious metals$248 million$4 million
08 · Fruit and nuts$181 million$14 million
76 · Aluminum$85 million$147 million
40 · Rubber$68 million$97 million
04 · Dairy, eggs and honey$43 million$40 million
74 · Copper$34 million$5 million
09 · Coffee, tea and spices$31 million$13 million
52 · Cotton$24 million$29 million
03 · Fish and seafood$19 million$174 million
85 · Electrical and electronic equipment$14 million$806 million
78 · Lead$9 million$69 thousand
07 · Vegetables$9 million$15 million
25 · Salt, stone and cement$8 million$110 million
20 · Preserved fruit and vegetables$8 million$28 million
15 · Fats and oils$8 million$56 million
84 · Mechanical machinery$7 million$819 million
11 · Milling products and malt$6 million$94 million
21 · Food preparations$6 million$87 million
02 · Meat and offal$6 million$3 million
12 · Oilseeds and grains$6 million$6 million
22 · Beverages and spirits$6 million$112 million
39 · Plastics$5 million$403 million
89 · Ships and boats$4 million$99 million
97 · Art and antiques$4 million$175 thousand
95 · Toys and sports gear$4 million$27 million
24 · Tobacco$4 million$19 million
30 · Pharmaceuticals$2 million$270 million
87 · Vehicles$2 million$493 million
94 · Furniture and lighting$2 million$185 million
19 · Baked goods and cereal products$2 million$93 million
90 · Precision and medical instruments$2 million$75 million
33 · Perfumes and cosmetics$2 million$76 million
73 · Iron and steel products$2 million$285 million
64 · Footwear$1 million$176 million
63 · Home textiles and used clothing$1 million$137 million
17 · Sugar and sweets$1 million$295 million
10 · Cereals$1 million$761 million
72 · Iron and steel$1 million$198 million
48 · Paper and paperboard$985 thousand$146 million
34 · Soap and cleaning products$812 thousand$28 million
36 · Explosives and matches$777 thousand$3 million
49 · Books and printed matter$760 thousand$28 million
88 · Aircraft and spacecraft$689 thousand$2 million
38 · Miscellaneous chemicals$674 thousand$180 million
61 · Knitted clothing$650 thousand$118 million
62 · Woven clothing$634 thousand$115 million
16 · Prepared meat and fish$575 thousand$21 million
91 · Watches and clocks$562 thousand$4 million
26 · Ores and slag$559 thousand$649 thousand
23 · Animal feed and food waste$545 thousand$25 million
05 · Other animal products$487 thousand$138 thousand
83 · Miscellaneous metal goods$474 thousand$84 million
42 · Leather goods and bags$393 thousand$60 million
69 · Ceramics$392 thousand$94 million
28 · Inorganic chemicals$391 thousand$48 million
32 · Dyes, paints and tanning agents$319 thousand$29 million
70 · Glass$298 thousand$42 million
67 · Feathers and artificial flowers$282 thousand$35 million
68 · Stone, plaster and cement articles$255 thousand$19 million
01 · Live animals$187 thousand$5 million
60 · Knitted fabric$172 thousand$11 million
96 · Other manufactured goods$170 thousand$45 million
55 · Synthetic staple fibers$169 thousand$66 million
06 · Live plants and flowers$153 thousand$1 million
82 · Tools and cutlery$148 thousand$57 million
57 · Carpets and rugs$124 thousand$18 million
31 · Fertilizers$120 thousand$47 million
14 · Other plant products$117 thousand$349 thousand
29 · Organic chemicals$103 thousand$27 million
92 · Musical instruments$93 thousand$1 million
54 · Synthetic filaments$86 thousand$50 million
81 · Other base metals$83 thousand$192 thousand
58 · Special fabrics and lace$83 thousand$6 million
13 · Gums and plant extracts$74 thousand$3 million
86 · Railway equipment$73 thousand$7 million
65 · Hats$33 thousand$7 million
41 · Hides and leather$21 thousand$699 thousand
46 · Wicker and basketware$21 thousand$730 thousand
35 · Glues, starches and enzymes$18 thousand$15 million
59 · Coated and technical textiles$14 thousand$13 million
66 · Umbrellas and canes$13 thousand$7 million
37 · Photographic goods$9 thousand$1 million
53 · Other plant fibers$4 thousand$2 million
56 · Felt, nonwovens and rope$3 thousand$15 million
93 · Weapons and ammunition$2 thousand$6 million
75 · Nickel$2 thousand$60 thousand
51 · Wool$766$11 thousand
79 · Zinc$692$53 thousand
80 · Tin$193$156 thousand
43 · Fur and fur goods$137$10 thousand
45 · Cork$15$134 thousand
50 · Silk$5$47 thousand
47 · Wood pulp$0$4 million

Trading partners

Its main destination is the Netherlands (20.3% of exports) and its main source is China (44.1% of imports).

Who it sells to

PartnerValue (USD billions)ShareMode
Netherlands1.420.3%Sea
China1.115.5%Sea
Malaysia0.7510.8%Sea
France0.537.7%Sea
Germany0.57.2%Sea
India0.476.8%Sea
Italy0.426.1%Sea
United States0.263.7%Sea
Uganda0.253.6%Air
Central African Republic0.213%Land

Who it buys from

PartnerValue (USD billions)ShareMode
China3.644.1%Sea
France0.587.1%Sea
India0.536.5%Sea
Belgium0.415%Sea
Brazil0.283.4%Sea
Turkey0.192.4%Sea
United States0.182.2%Sea
Thailand0.182.2%Sea
Germany0.182.1%Sea
Netherlands0.141.7%Sea

Overview 1995–2024

In 2024, Cameroon accounted for 0.03% of world exports, compared with 0.04% in 1995.

Exports and imports

Exports tripled since 1995

USD billions (current). Bars: trade balance (green surplus, red deficit).

  • Exports 6.9
  • Imports 8.3
  • Balance -1.3

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearExportsImportsTrade balance
1995$2.3 billion$1.3 billion$1 billion
1996$2.4 billion$1.4 billion$984 million
1997$2.7 billion$1.8 billion$942 million
1998$2.1 billion$1.7 billion$303 million
1999$2 billion$1.5 billion$523 million
2000$2.6 billion$1.6 billion$960 million
2001$2.3 billion$2.2 billion$135 million
2002$2.2 billion$2.1 billion$43 million
2003$2.9 billion$2.1 billion$808 million
2004$3.4 billion$2.6 billion$761 million
2005$4 billion$3.2 billion$781 million
2006$4.9 billion$3.7 billion$1.2 billion
2007$5.8 billion$4.2 billion$1.6 billion
2008$6.4 billion$5 billion$1.3 billion
2009$4.1 billion$4.8 billion-$692 million
2010$5.1 billion$5.5 billion-$350 million
2011$5.5 billion$6.2 billion-$680 million
2012$5.7 billion$7.3 billion-$1.6 billion
2013$5.8 billion$7.9 billion-$2.1 billion
2014$6.2 billion$9.1 billion-$2.9 billion
2015$5.1 billion$7.1 billion-$2 billion
2016$4.2 billion$6 billion-$1.8 billion
2017$4.8 billion$6.4 billion-$1.6 billion
2018$5.4 billion$7.3 billion-$1.9 billion
2019$5.8 billion$8 billion-$2.3 billion
2020$5 billion$7.8 billion-$2.8 billion
2021$5.7 billion$8.5 billion-$2.9 billion
2022$7.7 billion$8.8 billion-$1.1 billion
2023$7 billion$9.4 billion-$2.4 billion
2024$6.9 billion$8.3 billion-$1.3 billion

World rank

Cameroon fell from 87th to 118th among the world's exporters

Rank among 222 countries by export value (1st at the top).

  • 87th in 1995
  • 118th in 2024

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearRank
199587th
199688th
199788th
199894th
199994th
200095th
2001101st
2002105th
200395th
2004102nd
2005100th
200697th
200798th
2008105th
2009110th
2010110th
2011115th
2012113th
2013116th
2014114th
2015116th
2016120th
2017119th
2018118th
2019116th
2020117th
2021118th
2022115th
2023119th
2024118th

What it sells

Its top export group is still oil, gas and coal: 51% in 2024

% of exports by Harmonized System chapter.

  • Other 4%
  • Dairy, eggs and honey 1%
  • Rubber 1%
  • Aluminum 1%
  • Fruit and nuts 3%
  • Gems and precious metals 4%
  • Wood 9%
  • Cocoa and chocolate 28%
  • Oil, gas and coal 51%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Chapter19952024
Oil, gas and coal28.3%51%
Cocoa and chocolate8.4%27.6%
Wood24.4%8.7%
Gems and precious metals0.13%3.6%
Fruit and nuts6.2%2.6%
Aluminum6.6%1.2%
Rubber3.9%0.98%
Dairy, eggs and honey0.04%0.63%
Other22%3.7%

Who it trades with

China went from 2% to 31% of Cameroon's trade

% of total trade (exports + imports) with each partner.

  • China 31%
  • Netherlands 10%
  • France 7%
  • India 7%
  • Malaysia 5%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Partner19952024
China1.5%31.1%
Netherlands7.6%10.2%
France26.4%7.4%
India0.4%6.6%
Malaysia0.27%5.3%

Production hubs

Largest industrial emission sources (Climate TRACE, 2025)

  • Niger Delta basinOil and gas · 2.5 Mt CO₂e
View on the globe

Largest economic production hubs (gridded GDP, 2024)

  • Yaoundé$42.9 billion (PPP, 2021 dollars)
  • Douala$36 billion (PPP, 2021 dollars)
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Sources and methodology

Sources and licenses

Methodology

Goods trade from CEPII BACI (BACI_HS92_V202601), in current US dollars, with exports and imports reconciled between countries. The transport mode is our own estimate based on value per kilo and geography. Ranks are computed among the countries with data each year. Services are not included. Data up to 2024.

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