Cameroon contributes between 40% and 58% annually to the foreign exchange reserves of the six CEMAC countries, according to Gilbert Didier Edoa, Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance. Edoa disclosed this figure on June 17, 2025, at the opening of “Finance Week” in Yaoundé. This year, the forum for finance stakeholders focused on “Exchange Regulation and Economic Development in the CEMAC Zone.”

With an average annual contribution of 49% to the region’s foreign exchange reserves, Cameroon, which hosts about 40% of CEMAC’s industrial base, single-handedly supports a large portion of the sub-region’s import capacity. Foreign exchange reserves comprise all foreign currency payments received by states and economic agents, enabling them to make foreign currency payments to international partners.

Under monetary agreements between CEMAC countries and France, 50% of these reserves are typically repatriated to the BEAC, CEMAC’s central bank, while the other 50% is held in an operations account at the French Treasury. This pooled account allows CEMAC member states to collectively pay for their respective imports.

This shared responsibility for using foreign exchange reserves enables a country to import goods and services in amounts exceeding its own holdings in the operations account. In such cases, the importing country relies on the reserves of member states with a foreign currency surplus relative to their import needs.

CEMAC’s foreign exchange reserves are projected to increase by 4% in 2025, reaching 7,584.9 billion CFA francs, according to the BEAC’s Monetary Policy Committee. The committee met on March 24, 2025, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. This increase would provide 4.8 months of import coverage for goods and services, up from 4.6 months at the end of 2024. The central bank noted that, in terms of import coverage, foreign currency reserves would thus return to their 2023 level after successive declines.

BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui of the Central African Republic attributes this projected improvement to the early results of import-substitution policies adopted by member states to reduce imports. He also cited the effective repatriation of funds for the rehabilitation of mining sites, although an agreement on this matter has yet to be reached between the central bank, CEMAC states, and active mining operators in the region. According to Governor Sana Bangui, who again addressed the issue on June 17 during Finance Week in Yaoundé, a final round of negotiations is expected soon, following the failure of a critical meeting held on April 30, 2025.

Source: Business in Cameroon