Overview of timber sector of Cameroon

Forest concessions
(2019)

3.6

million m3 of logs produced (2017)

Supply chain actors

In 2019, MINOF declared 93 forest concessions, 38 communal forests, 142 timber sales and approximately and 50 community forests. These forest titles are managed by about 50 large international or national companies (59), about 40 medium-sized national companies (46) and about 30 rural communes (38) that own communal forests.

Production and processing

Main harvested species

The most harvested species between 2010 and 2016 (FRMi 2018) are:

Ayous (Triplochiton scleroxylon)
Sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum)
Tali (Erythrophleum ivorense; Erythrophleum suaveolens)
Azobé (Lophira alata)
Okan (Cylicodiscus gabunensis)
Iroko (Milicia excelsa)
Padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxi)
Kossipo (Entandrophragma candollei)
Fraké (Terminalia superba)
Dabéma (Piptadeniastrum africanum)

Although the majority of the logs are processed within the country, the production of highly processed products is still relatively rare. The forest industry mainly produces primary timber products, with the main export products being logs, sawnwood, plywood and veneer.

Export

According to MINFOF (2018), Cameroon's logging industry produced approximately 3.3 million metres of logs in 2017. Most of this volume is used for the export of products from primary processing, which represents a total export value of US$933.7 million in 2018 (ITTO 2019, data 2018). Cameroonian exports are sold to all regions of the world, but mainly to China, Vietnam and Western Europe.

Logistics infrastructure

The Cameroonian exports are sold to all regions of the world. Besides overland export routes to other African countries, most timber is exported via the main port of Douala. This port is also used as one of the main ports for the export of timber harvested in the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Data table

	Production (X 1000m3)	Imports (X 1000m3)	Domestic consumption (X 1000m3)	Exports (X 1000m3)
logs	3.560	77	2.218	1.418
Sawnwood	1.022	0	376	647
Veneer	56	0	13	42
Plywood	18		12	6

ITTO (2019), data 2017

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