SOURCE: Business in Cameroon
Last year, European Union countries remained the largest consumers of Cameroonian pineapples, with France leading the way. According to a recent report on Cameroon’s economic competitiveness by the Competitiveness Committee, a specialized unit under the Ministry of Economy, “France (59%), Belgium (32%), and Italy (4.7%) are the top three buyers of Cameroonian pineapples. The United States, accounting for 32.2% of pineapple imports, represents a significant market opportunity.”
However, despite interest from the European market and the growing demand for fresh pineapples in the U.S., Cameroon remains a minor player in the global pineapple trade. “In 2023, Cameroon dropped one spot to become the 37th largest exporter of fresh pineapples, trailing behind African competitors like Côte d’Ivoire, which ranked 19th with a 0.4% market share,” the report noted.
Even though the global pineapple market saw a 7.3% increase in demand in 2023, Cameroon’s market share stayed low at just 0.1%. This share has averaged 0.1% from 2019 to 2023 and has been stagnant since 2020, according to the same report.
The report attributes Cameroon’s underperformance in the global pineapple market to productivity differences and the smaller areas dedicated to pineapple cultivation compared to other producing countries. “While the global demand for pineapples is significant, Cameroon’s production per hectare is half of that in countries like Costa Rica,” the Competitiveness Committee explained, citing data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Costa Rica, the world’s top pineapple exporter, and the Philippines dominate the global market, holding 49.2% and 14.8% of the market share, respectively, in 2023. Over the 2019-2023 period, Costa Rica consistently maintained a strong market share of just over 47%, according to the report by the Competitiveness Committee.