On 30 March 2023, the platform took part in the restricted consultation held in Douala between MINEPAT and private sector players. The Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) has launched a consultation with certain major players in the national economy. These are mainly business leaders from the local flour, timber, milk, palm oil and steel sectors. The meeting took place on 30 March at Crystal Palace hotel in Douala.
PROFALCAM took part in the meeting as a platform for local flour pro
moters in Cameroon. During the presentation made by its President, Njile George Mbanda, an overview of local fl
ours was given. This provided an opportunity to highlight the various initiatives undertaken to date in this sector by
both the government and PROFALCAM.
The presentation was also an opportunity to outline the various constraints facing the platform, and to identify the levers to be used to boost production in this sector. This presentation did not fall on deaf ears. In fact, the meeting produced a draft matrix of priority measures to be implemented for the development of local flour. This document identifies the problems to be solved, the priority measures to be taken and the public and private bodies involved. As far as local flour is concerned, the government is committed to “supporting PROFALCAM in order to make it a public utility and encourage the development of this value chain”. To work to develop “standards for local flour for bread-making and make them compulsory”.
The government also wants to “speed up the revision of the bread standard in order to define the proportions of wheat/local flours to be incorporated into bread, as well as other bakery, pastry and biscuit products, and make it compulsory”. Another priority measure for MINEPAT is the adoption of a law on the incorporation of local flours in all bakery, pastry and biscuit products from structures established on national territory, by ensuring that they are systematically used in public procurement. But also “to explore ways and means of gradually reducing, with a view to abolishing, the tax and customs advantages granted to importers of durum wheat and/or wheat flour”.
The consultation, which took place at the Hôtel Krystal Palace in Douala, was chaired by Paul Tasong, Minister Delegate to MINEPAT. Its aim was to identify the levers to be used in the various sectors of the economy mentioned above, to enable the private sector to make an optimum contribution to achieving the objectives of transforming the national economy. This applies in particular to the import-substitution policy initiated in 2010.