Gov't reaction to Somdiaa bearing fruits

After the sounding of an alarm to the Cameroonian president about unfair competition, Sugar Society Cameroon, a subsidiary of the french group Somdiaa, has revealed that its major concerns are now being taken into account and some of its requests are partly being answered.

The Sugar Company, Cameroon (Sosucam) now relieved after the subsidiary of the french group Somdiaa, was massively challenged by Brazil and Asian imports and smuggling of sugar from Nigeria. After losing 10.3 million dollars (7.8 million euros) in August and September 2013, Sosucam had threatened to stop the Nkoteng factory, one of its two production units.

Its Director General, Louis Yinda, had, called on the attention of the President, Paul Biya on this situation, evoking even a final closing "If the conditions of full competition were not restored".

The message seems to have been heard due to the fact that Somdiaa has noted "the gradual stop of import authorizations which exceeded domestic requirements and better control of borders" to the North which slows down the fraud from Nigeria.

The french industrial group Somdiaa, who had planned to invest more than 320 million euros (210 billion CFA FRANCS) to complete its development plan 2012-2017 in the sugar industry, finds itself more and more confronted with the devastation illegal imports in Africa.

In Chad, the Group was forced to suspend the activities of its plant in N'Djamena in 2012. Last February, its local subsidiary, the sugar company of Chad (CST), announced that it was closing its main unit, located in Banda (in the South of the country), and left 2,500 people unemployed, a misadventure that Cameroon has, for now, succeeded in preventing.