Cameroon’s milk powder imports rise despite substitution drive

CAMEROON – Cameroon imported more milk powder in 2025 despite a government program designed to increase domestic production and reduce reliance on foreign supplies, highlighting the gap between the country’s import-substitution targets and results on the ground.

Imports of powdered or concentrated milk increased 8% to 17,880 tons from 16,555 tons. Their value, however, fell 1.2% to US$58.07 million (CFA32.8 billion).

The increase came during the implementation of the government’s 2024-2026 Integrated Agropastoral and Fisheries Import-Substitution Plan, or Piisah, which aims to increase domestic supply and reduce dependence on imports.

According to the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries’ 2025 review, Cameroon produced an estimated 183,286 tons of milk and 249,083 tons of fish last year. Those figures were only 1.5% and 1.2% higher, respectively, than the ministry’s 2024 figures.

The government is targeting 351,900 tons of milk. Production in 2025 therefore represented just 52.1% of the milk target.

That leaves gaps of 168,614 tons of milk. Reaching the targets in a single year would require production increases of about 92% for milk. On a comparable statistical basis, those increases would be far above the growth rates recorded so far.

The figures show the size of the shortfall but do not by themselves explain the slow increase in production. Constraints can include feed costs, access to fingerlings and breeding stock, financing, cold-storage infrastructure, logistics and the time required for government-backed projects to translate into additional supply.

Implementation data point to another challenge. According to the ministry’s review, Piisah recorded an 87% commitment rate in 2025 but only a 30.18% physical execution rate. The dairy component reached 40.56%.

The figures require some caution. Budget commitments are an administrative stage in public spending and do not necessarily mean that money has been disbursed or projects completed on the ground.

For 2026, the same report lists a $22.13 million (CFA12.5 billion) allocation, with 76.93% committed. Yet physical execution was still at zero at the time of the assessment across the six agencies concerned: Sodepa, Lanavet, CDEN, CDENO, Midepecam and CDPM.

Additionally, the government is seeking to accelerate investment. In August 2026, the livestock ministry and the Cameroon SME Bank announced an additional CFA6.5 billion for the cattle, dairy and fisheries industries.

Its impact will depend on how quickly the funds reach beneficiaries and whether the investments translate into higher volumes reaching the market.

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