Cement and hydrocarbons dominated imports into Cameroon last year, according to the report of port activity of 2013 presented by directors of the National Port Authority (APN).

APN says these two products represented respectively 16 and 15.1 percent of imports that reached the port of Douala, which we learn treated 99.7 per cent of total imports.

In detail, the report says a little over 1,260 million tonnes of cement landed at the port of Douala between January and December 2013, due to plenty of construction projects in infrastructure in the country.

A situation that creates a deficit, the highest domestic production now at 1.7 million tonnes per year (1.2 million Cimencam and 500,000 tonnes Cimaf) for an application that is currently around four million tonnes, and officially projected at eight million tonnes.

At the same time, statistics reveal just over 1,190 million tonnes of oil were imported from Cameroon in 2013, as the country has a refinery (Sonara), which does not address the crude produced locally.

Behind the cement and hydrocarbons are rice and clinker (raw material for cement manufacture), with respectively 759 000 tonnes and 655 000 tonnes, in relative terms, 9.6 and 8.3 per cent of total imports in the country last year. Hardware products and bulk wheat placed 5th and 6th on the list with 558,000 and 543,000 respectively imported tonnes, about 7.1 and 6.9 percent of total imports.

And finally, frozen fish (212 000 tonnes, ie 2.7% of total imports), industrial chemicals (over 203 000 tonnes, or 2.6% of imports), other food products (190 000 tonnes or 2.4 per cent of imports), and vehicles and equipment (187,580 tonnes, representing 2.1% of import traffic).