In the Economic and Budgetary Programming Document (DPEB) for the medium term 2027-2029, the Cameroonian Ministry of Finance (Minfi) reveals that between January and March 2026, the General Directorate of Customs (DGD) collected 260.9 billion CFA francs, or nearly 450 million dollars. This amount represents a decrease of 1.7% compared to the same period in 2025, during which customs revenue amounted to 265.5 billion CFA francs, or approximately 457.5 million dollars.
Minfi attributes this decline to “the collapse of exit duties applied to exported products.” Out of the expected 30.8 billion CFA francs in the first quarter of 2026, 49.3% were mobilized, amounting to 15.2 billion CFA francs, equivalent to about 26.2 million dollars.
As of March 31, 2026, exit duties have thus decreased by 47.6% compared to the 29 billion CFA francs recorded in the first quarter of 2025. According to Cameroonian financial authorities, this trend reflects “a decline in the value of exports subject to this taxation, a change in their structure, or delays in customs clearance operations.”
On the other hand, import duties did not follow this trend in the first quarter of 2026. The corresponding revenue increased from 94.6 billion CFA francs on March 31, 2025, to 102.7 billion CFA francs at the end of March 2026, representing an 8.6% year-on-year growth. However, this performance remains below the government’s forecast of 107 billion CFA francs, corresponding to a realization rate of 96%.
Minfi also highlights that revenue from value-added tax (VAT) on imports has evolved in the same direction. It increased from 112.6 billion CFA francs in the first quarter of 2025 to 119.1 billion CFA francs in the same period in 2026, a 5.8% year-on-year increase.
Despite this growth, these revenues remain 4.1 billion CFA francs below the government’s target of 123.2 billion CFA francs set for the first quarter of 2026.
