(Invest in Cameroon) – According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), producer prices in the wood industries in Cameroon recorded an increase of 3.4% during the second quarter of 2024. This increase is part of a broader trend, with an annual increase of nearly 12% observed since the beginning of the year. This development is revealed in the quarterly analysis of the Industrial Producer Price Index (IPPI), published this Monday, September 23, 2024. At the beginning of the year, the INS had reported an increase of 12.5%. Since the beginning of 2021, the organization in charge of developing statistics in Cameroon has observed a continuous upward trend in producer prices in this sector.
Although the INS did not provide detailed explanations regarding this “strong increase”, It is possible that it is linked to the increase in fuel prices, which came into effect on February 3, 2024. Diesel, used as a backup energy source by many industrial units facing recurring power cuts, has seen a second increase in its price per liter in two years, which has likely impacted the production costs of wood processors.
In a broader context, the rise in industrial producer prices began at the beginning of the year with a 0.9% year-on-year increase, which accelerated in the second quarter with a 1.6% increase. This increase was mainly driven by the wood and wood products industries, which posted a 12% increase, as well as by the printing and paper and paperboard industries, up 7%. However, this increase was mitigated by a contraction in some sectors, including a 5.8% decline in the furniture manufacturing industries, -4.3% in the machinery and equipment manufacturing, and -3.6% in metallurgy and metal products manufacturing, according to the INS.
Let us recall that the IPPI, published quarterly by the INS, measures the evolution of prices of transactions of industrial goods produced in Cameroon. These are ex-factory prices, excluding taxes and subsidies, as well as excluding transport margins. The IPPI covers various secondary sectors: extractive industries, manufacturing activities, production and distribution of electricity, gas and water, as well as sanitation, waste treatment and decontamination.
PNN
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