Cameroon plans to install a second cotton mill, the Ministry of Industry reveals in its 2022 activity plan submitted to parliament.
According to the plan, the new mill will help significantly boost the local cotton processing rate and drastically reduce textile imports. The same source explains that the new mill will have a 300,000 tons annual production capacity and will produce diverse products to meet the government’s needs in clothing materials.
New State-Backed Textile Mill Aims to Revive Struggling Sector
Specifically, the mill will produce clothing materials for major state organs (law enforcement organizations, schools, universities, etc.). Therefore, state purchases could serve as a lever for the development of that sector.
The construction of the new mill is announced at a time when the first one, CICAM, is facing operating challenges despite the XAF13.2 billion performance contract it signed with the government- its sole shareholder- in 2015. Despite the performance contract, CICAM is unable to address its years-long challenges. Indeed, some years back, it was the flagship of the CEMAC textile industry. Nowadays, however, it barely controls 5% of the Cameroonian market due to competition from imported and contraband products that have flooded the market.
Meanwhile, over the 2020-2030 period, Cameroon’s national development strategy expects to boost the secondary sector’s contribution to GDP from 28.2% in 2018 to 36.8% by 2030. To achieve that goal, the country plans to focus on nine main industries, including the textile sector.
