A note titled "Suspension of payment of the transit fee on wheat importers" was sent on July 28 to the Port Weighing Service (DPWS) company in charge of weighing certain foodstuffs at the port of Douala by the Director General of the Port Authority of Douala (PAD), Cyrus Ngo'o.

The PAD top manager explains that this decision is in line with the fight led by the government against the rise in consumer prices, and in application of the "very high instructions" of the President of the Republic. Thus, the Port Weighing company is suspending the collection of this fee for a period of six months from March to August 2022 inclusive.

The DG's note has a retroactive effect in that invoices already issued will be credited to the recipients. Also, if this exemption reduces DPWS’ turnover "substantially", this will be taken into account in its contractual relationship with PAD. This means that the port of Douala itself would have to waive some of the taxes and fees levied on wheat imports.

The suspension of the payment of the transit fee on wheat comes in a context where the milling sector, like other agri-food sectors, is experiencing import inflation. Indeed, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects, the recent Russian-Ukrainian conflict, products which have wheat flour as primary input, such as bread, have seen their prices rise despite efforts made by the Ministry of Trade to regulate these prices. This has caused an increase in the price of bread from 125 to 150 CFAF per 200-gram loaf. The millers say from the first quarter of 2021 to date, the production cost of a 50 kg bag of flour has increased by 2,000 CFAF from 4,500 to 6,500 CFAF.

Source: Business in Cameroon