A Central African nation on the continent’s western coast, the Republic of Cameroon shipped US$7.13 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That calculated dollar amount results from a 65% acceleration from $4.32 billion five years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the value of Cameroonian exports spiked by 32.9% compared to $5.36 billion starting from 2024.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, Cameroon uses the West African CFA franc which appreciated by 4.4% against the US dollar since 2021 but declined by -4.5% from 2024 to 2025. Cameroon’s weaker local currency compared to 2024 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting with American currency.

Cameroon’s 5 main exports are cocoa beans, crude oil, cocoa butter and fat or oil, unwrought gold then cocoa paste. Combined, that quintet of major Cameroonian export products represents 74.8% of the Central African country’s export sales. Such a high percentage reveals a concentrated portfolio of export goods.

Cameroon’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data from 2024 shows that 84.2% of products exported from Cameroon was bought by importers in: Netherlands (19.2% of the Cameroonian total), mainland China (16.5%), India (10.1%), Italy (6.4%), France (5.7%), Bangladesh (5.03%), Belgium (5.01%), Chad (4.3%), United States of America (3.7%), Türkiye (3.1%), Malaysia (3%) and Germany (2.3%).

From a continental perspective, 42.1% of Cameroon’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 43.5% was sold to importers in Europe.

Cameroon shipped another 9.6% worth of goods to customers based in fellow African nations.

Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (3.8%), Latin America (0.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania’s Australia and Marshall Islands (0.004%).

Given Cameroon’s population of 30 million people, its total US$7.13 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $240 for every resident in the central-west African country. That dollar metric lags the average $250 per capita one year earlier in 2024.

Cameroon’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Cameroonian global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Cameroon.

1. Cocoa: US$3.2 billion (44.3% of total exports)
2. Mineral fuels including oil: $2.1 billion (30.2%)
3. Wood: $558.4 million (7.8%)
4. Gems, precious metals: $498.2 million (7%)
5. Fruits, nuts: $314.1 million (4.4%)
6. Rubber, rubber articles: $103 million (1.4%)
7. Aluminum: $68.3 million (1%)
8. Coffee, tea, spices: $44.7 million (0.6%)
9. Ores, slag, ash: $35.9 million (0.5%)
10. Copper: $28.8 million (0.4%)

Cameroon’s top 10 exports accounted for 97.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Gems and precious metals represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 124,774% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was ores, slag and ash group via a 17,770% advance.

Cameroon’s shipments of copper posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 938.9%.

The lone decliner among Cameroon’s top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil, thanks to a -8.5% year-over-year drop.

The above-listed product categories are presented at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.

Drilling down to the more detailed 4-digit HTS codes, Cameroon’s top 10 most valuable exports are cocoa beans (29.8% of the country’s total revenues), crude oil (23.6%), cocoa butter and fat or oil (7.4%), unwrought gold (7%), cocoa paste (6.9%), petroleum gases (6.5%), sawn wood (5.7%), bananas including plantains (4.3%), natural rubber (1.4%) then unwrought aluminum (1%).

Products Generating Cameroon’s Largest Trade Surpluses

The following types of Cameroonian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Cocoa: US$3.1 billion (Up by 90.9% since 2024)
2. Mineral fuels including oil: $1.8 billion (Up by 205.8%)
3. Wood: $554.6 million (Up by 35.9%)
4. Gems, precious metals: $493.2 million (Reversing a -$6.9 million deficit)
5. Fruits, nuts: $298.4 million (Up by 458%)
6. Ores, slag, ash: $34.8 million (Reversing a -$484,000 deficit)
7. Coffee, tea, spices: $33.8 million (Down by -22.4%)
8. Copper: $24.8 million (Reversing a -$2.5 million deficit)
9. Lead: $7.5 million (Up by 157.6%)
10. Vegetables: $4.3 million (Reversing an -$11.5 million deficit)

Historically, Cameroon earns highly positive net exports in the international trade of cocoa. In turn, these cashflows indicate Cameroon’s strong competitive advantages under the related product category.

Products Causing Cameroon’s Worst Trade Deficits

Overall Cameroon incurred an estimated -US$1.7 billion product trade deficit for 2025, reducing by -40.6% from -$3 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2024.

Below are exports from Cameroon that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Cameroon’s goods trail Cameroonian importer spending on foreign products.

1. Machinery including computers: -US$837.8 million (Up by 8.7% since 2024)
2. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$790.9 million (Up by 57%)
3. Vehicles: -$642 million (Up by 51.9%)
4. Cereals: -$534.1 million (Down by -39%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: -$441.9 million (Up by 68.3%)
6. Articles of iron or steel: -$326.5 million (Up by 113.1%)
7. Fish: -$272.5 million (Down by -0.7%)
8. Pharmaceuticals: -$262.7 million (Down by -6.1%)
9. Iron, steel: -$249.3 million (Up by 28.5%)
10. Other chemical goods: -$225.2 million (Up by 31.7%)

Cameroon has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the related product categories machinery including computers and electrical machinery and equipment.

Cameroonian Export Companies

Not one Cameroonian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000 largest companies on a worldwide scale.

Wikipedia lists companies from Cameroon that participate in international trade transactions. Selected examples are shown below.

• Brasseries du Cameroun (beer)
• Cargo Airways International (industrial airliner)
• Commercial Bank Cameroon (bank)
• Elysian Airlines (industrial airliner)
• National Financial Credit Bank (bank)
• Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (oil, gas)
• Union Bank of Cameroon (bank)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Cameroon’s total exported goods represent 4.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($173 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 4.5% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Cameroon’s total economic performance, albeit based on a relatively short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Cameroon’s unemployment rate averaged 3.6% for 2025, mirroring the average 3.6% one year earlier according to Trading Economics metrics.

Cameroon’s capital city is Yaoundé nicknamed the “City of Seven Hills”.

See also South Africa’s Top 10 Exports, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports, Kenya’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on September 5, 2026

EXCHANGE-RATES.org, West African Franc to US Dollar (Exchange Rate History). Accessed on September 5, 2026

FlagPictures.org, Flag of Cameroon. Accessed on September 5, 2026

Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 5, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 5, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 5, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 5, 2026

Wikipedia, Cameroon. Accessed on September 5, 2026

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Cameroon. Accessed on September 5, 2026