In Cameroon, the authorities, those responsible for seven consumer sectors and consumer associations are on alert to curb the surge in prices and the shortage of food products on the eve of the end-of-year holidays. The unilateral increase, over the past few days, in beer prices in drinking establishments is raising eyebrows, adding to the high cost of chicken on the market.
At the Nsam market, in 3th district of Yaoundé, Michèle has just bought a chicken weighing less than 3 and a half kilograms at a price that she considers very high for a family of 5 people.
“I was able to buy, but the prices are so high, I don’t think we’re going to get by. I came with 2500 FCFA, but I realize that to buy a good chicken, you need to have at least 3500 FCFA and more; This means that prices are increasing day by day,” she says.
High prices which do not suit the sellers either, like Asta who, for six hours on the market square, has been struggling to sell her chickens.
“They sell me the chick for 650 FCFA, you have to buy the corn to feed it, currently it is expensive and there is a shortage of corn in the North. The feed costs 21,000 FCFA, after having spent like that, I cannot sell the chicken cheaper, that is why customers find it expensive,” tries to explain Asta about this surge in the price of chicken.
The poultry industry has alerted the government to the corn shortage since July 15. Locally produced corn accounts for 50% of poultry nutrition. During a consultation with the Minister of Commerce, the poultry industry indicated that the sector is doing poorly.
“From the 2016 peak of 71 million head of chickens which was roughly equivalent to 44 thousand tonnes of chicken meat, today we are almost at half that, which means that we have lost production capacity. […] In 2016, we produced 900,000 chicks per week, today we are far from that, around 400,000 per week” indicated Jean Marie Kemegne, permanent secretary of the poultry inter-professional association.
If the prices of other consumer products soar, the end-of-year holidays could be difficult for many Cameroonians. Prince Mpondo, president of the Cameroonian Consumer Coalition, sounds the alarm, warning: “If we do not put in place incisive production policies to boost local production we will find ourselves in a situation of food insecurity in our country. »
“The government must also set up monitoring teams to ensure that the product is available, that it is of quality and that it is accessible in terms of price; and economic operators must demonstrate patriotism,” suggests Prince Mpondo, president of the Cameroonian Consumers Coalition.
The government has prescribed price stability to players in 7 consumer product sectors and announced preventive measures against speculation in the run-up to the end-of-year holidays.
“It’s always gone well and 2O24 couldn’t be an exception, there’s no reason why it should be any different. We have an obligation, a duty towards our compatriots by engaging in our respective sectors, it is because you felt invested in public service, even in commerce you perform public service, because it is about reassuring our populations,”declared Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Commerce.
The fact remains that a cacophony persists in the brewing industry, with beer prices having increased by 50 CFA francs without the approval of the Ministry of Commerce. The owners of drinking establishments point an accusing finger at the multinational Boissons du Cameroun.
