1. GENERAL PRESENTATION : 

1.1. General characteristics : 

Official name	Republic of Cameroun
Area	475,000 Km²
Population	13.2 million in 1995
Density	27.8 inhabitants per Km²
Capital	Yaounde
Climate	Over the whole territory the climate is note homogeneous, the North provinces are Sub-Saharan with strong weather variations ; while in the South the climate is relatively mild and rainy.
Main holidays	January 1st, February 11th, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Mai 1st and 20th, Ascension, December 10th and 25th.

1.2. General information : 

Language	French & English
Currency	CFA Francs
Local time	GMT + 1 H.
Working hours	Administration and Enterprises : 7 H 30 to 12 H 00 and 14 H 30 to 18 H 00.   Banks : 7 H 30 to 11 H 00 and 14 H 30 to 16 H 30.

2.1. Main exported products : 

Crude petroleum;

Coffee;

Timber;

Bananas;

Cotton;

Cocoa; and

natural rubber.

2.2. Main imported products : 

Capital goods;

Semi-finished products;

raw materials secured for the needs of local enterprises;

some food products such as rice and flour.

2.3. Trading partners :

France in particular and on the whole the European Union are by far the main trading partner of Cameroun both at imports and exports levels.

The implementation instrument of trade exchanges between Cameroun and the rest of the world is "le programme Général des Echanges" (Trade General Programme decision n° 063/Mindic - CAB). 

3.1. Imports regulations : 

At imports levels, Trade General Programme makes a distribution between four products categories : 

Products subjected to simplified import declaration procedure ; 

Products subjected to the prealable authorization of the Ministry of Foreign Trade ;  

Products subjected to the technical visa of some ministerial departments ; 

And prohibited products.

The control of imported goods is compulsory before shipment ; this control operation which is both quantitative and qualitative is carried out by "la Société Générale de Surveillance" (General Control Company).

3.2. Exports regulations :

At Export level, the trade General programme makes a distinction between three products categories :

Unrestricted products subjected to a simple customs declaration and possibly to a certificate of origin ; 

Products requiring administrative formalities : the Export of some products such as cattle, fisheries must be carried out taking into account the regulations provisions of countries of destination. Consequently, concerned exporters must first obtain certificates and attestations demanded by foreign buyers from competent national administrations ; 

And finally products prohibited for exports : in general, products threatening health, security and environment. 

Other formalities and documents :

The following operations are exempted from shipping control modalities carried out by the SGS (General Control Company) :

Imports whose FOB value is lower than 2 million CFA Francs ;

Imports undertaken by public administrations on their own account ; 

And some specific goods such as precious stones and objets d'art.

4.1. Banking system : 

Cameroun is member of Central Africa States Bank ; therefore it is not endowed with a Central Bank of its own ; 

The banking system of Cameroun is also made up of commercial banks, some of which are rather branches of international banks such as "la Société Commerciale de Banque Crédit Lyonnais" - Cameroun or even "la Société Générale de Banque" in Cameroun. 

4.2. Exchange system : 

Cameroun is member of the Franc zone ;funds transfers between the Member States of this zone are not restricted but they must be carried out by authorized middlemen. 

With regard to non-member countries, Cameroun applies the principle of partial convertibility ; in other words, currency convertibility is not restricted for current commercial transactions provided that the provisions of foreign trade regulations are respected by importers. 

4.3. Methods and means for international settlement : 

Cameroun's foreign trade operators resort to most of the settlement means and methods utilized at international level : documentary credit, international Bank transfers, documentary remittance etc… 

But, the most demanded means of settlement by foreign or Camerounese exporters remain irrevocable or confirmed documentary credit. 

Certified check or bank check as well as backed bills are also utilized in international trade operations.

In the area of customs taxation, Cameroun should take into account both its adhesion to the GATT and its participation in the customs and Economic Union of Central Africa. 

5.1. Applicable duties and taxes : 

As UDEAC Member, Cameroun applies a common external tariff provided for by 1/92 UDEAC Act. 

This external tariff applied by all Member States includes customs taxation and temporary surtax. 

At present, applicable customs duties rates are fixed on the basis of goods CIF value as follows : 

Staples : 5% ;

Raw materials and capital goods : 10% ;

Intermediate goods : 20% ;

And current consumption goods : 30%.

Temporary surtax was introduced to enable UDEAC Member States to abolish quantitative restrictions starting from 1996. But the rate must not exceed 30% and the maximal and non renewable implementation period of this temporary tax extends over six years. The taxable base is similar to that of customs duties. 

Cameroun also applies an import duty whose rate ranges between 5 and 90%. 

Imported goods are also submitted to a turnover tax (TOT) of 10% on the basis of CIF value plus customs duties and import duty amounts. 

Finally imported goods are subjected to other less important duties and taxes, such as inspection tax or computer tax. 

5.2. Special provisions : 

* UDEAC products covered by a corresponding certificate from a : 

A total exemption from customs duties when they are included in the list provided by article 9 of the UDEAC Act n° 7/93 ; 

Of a preferential tariff for other products ; this tariff is determined in percentage of the customs duty rate applicable to similar imported products of third countries. The constitutive UDEAC Act provides for a progressive reduction of this preferential tariff with a view to reducing it to 0% starting from 1998. The taxable base of this preferential tariff is the price exworks.

6.1. International Transports : 

Cameroun's transport networks are relatively numerous and varied : Road, railway, maritime, air and fluvial transport means. 

The road network accounts alone for 75% of transport operations all over Cameroun's territory ; the length of this network is estimated at 50,000 Km. 

In the field of air transport, the national company, Cameroun Airline (CAMAIR) ensures both local and international links, especially those bound for the major international airport of Europe and Africa. 

The main international airports in Cameroun are Douala, Garoua and Nsimalen. 

The railway network extends over about 1,200 Km and it is composed of two main single track lines. 

In the field of maritime transport, Douala deep water harbor and three secondary ports of Kribi, Tico and Limbe account for more than 90% in Cameroun's foreign trade. 

6.2. Telecommunications : 

Cameroun's telecommunications sector has for the last ten years been considerably developed in order to meet the increasing subscription requests. The restructuration plan of this sector whose implementation is underway provides for the setting up of 200,000 telephone lines by the year 2,000. 

At international level, Cameroun is endowed with automatic telephone links with its main trading partners. 

6.3. Distribution System : 

Cameroun's distribution system is in fact made up of two sub-systems : one modern and the other traditional. 

The traditional sector which is sometimes qualified as an informal sector is still playing an important role, especially with regard to staples distribution and more particularly of current consumption food products. 

While the modern sector is dominated by two large companies which account for the main commercial transactions : imports, wholesales, retail sales in large stores. These companies often create hypermarkets and supermarkets, whose number is increasing in the large cities of the country.