Cameroon's shrimp sector, while considered the country's primary seafood export, faces significant challenges. A recent study under the FISH4ACP program highlights persistent issues such as informality, post-catch losses, a weak cold chain, and difficulties accessing the most profitable international markets.
The study reveals that over 11,000 direct stakeholders are involved in the sector in Cameroon, including 4,085 fishermen, approximately 3,500 marketing actors, 200 transport operators, around 100 processing units, and about ten exporting companies. It generates an estimated total added value of $47 million (approximately 26 billion FCFA) and accounts for about 12% of the fisheries sector's GDP. Artisanal production is estimated at 6,002 tons per year.
A striking aspect of the study is the predominance of Nigerian fishermen, who account for 61.5% of active shrimp catchers in Cameroon. While this doesn't signify complete domination of the sector by Nigerian operators, it underscores an imbalance in the crucial catching segment. This situation is exacerbated by the prevalence of informality, affecting 84% of traders in the sector. Furthermore, 86% of profits are reportedly captured by industrialists and wholesalers, widening inequalities in value distribution.
Informality hinders traceability, complicates commercial organization, and limits the government's ability to effectively regulate the sector. It weakens small operators, with only 3% of fishermen having access to formal credit. The study identifies three main distribution channels: the local market (50% of transactions), the national market (30%), and exports (20%). Within the export segment, there are formal exports to Asia (China, Malaysia, Vietnam) and informal exports to Nigeria.
The lack of cold chain infrastructure in Bakassi promotes a "leakage of 58% of Ndian's production to Nigeria," compromising quality control, taxation, and traceability. Losses related to conservation deficits are estimated at over 4 billion FCFA per year. 88% of fishermen cite the lack of ice as a major cause of product degradation, 89% of units report losses before landing, and 75% of local transport occurs without any preservation devices.
The European market has remained closed to Cameroonian exports since 2009 due to non-compliance with health standards. Cameroon received a yellow card from the European Union in 2021 for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Although the national control laboratory is available, it is not operational, yet it is an essential tool for ensuring compliance with international standards.
Faced with these challenges, the study proposes solutions: equipping landing sites with cold chain infrastructure (community ice factories, solar-powered cold rooms), establishing a one-stop shop for shrimp farmers, progressively formalizing actors, operationalizing the national control laboratory, and improving inter-institutional coordination. The adoption of Law No. 2024/019 of December 23, 2024, on fisheries and aquaculture is a step forward, but its impact will depend on its implementation and the reduction of informality. According to Victor Viban Banah, regional delegate for the Littoral at the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, “We have shrimp of exceptional quality, by all accounts. But to gain access to the most lucrative markets, certain sanitary requirements must be met, and we are working on it”.
