Cameroon’s Sugar Corporation (Sosucam) has suffered a major blow, with 150 hectares of its sugar cane plantations going up in smoke. The fire followed a strike by the company’s employees that spiraled into a full-blown riot on February 4 in the town of Nkoteng. The details were revealed on February 5 by Naseri Paul Bea, the governor of the Central Region, during an appearance on the private TV station Canal 2 International.

The employees had been protesting for better wages and working conditions when the strike escalated. One protester lost their life in the violence, and several others, including police officers and gendarmes who were sent to restore order, were injured. According to the governor, the riot left a number of people wounded. At this time, Sosucam, one of Cameroon’s largest sugar producers, has yet to release an official statement on the incidents, which occurred just over a week after Jean-Louis Liscio was appointed the company’s new CEO.

The destruction of part of Sosucam’s sugar cane fields is expected to affect the company’s annual production, which was already struggling to meet the country’s growing demand. Sosucam owns 25,000 hectares of plantations across Mbandjock, Nkoteng, and Lembe-Yezoum in the Centre Region of Cameroon. The company typically produces between 100,000 and 130,000 tons of sugar annually, while the country’s total demand is estimated at nearly 300,000 tons, forcing Cameroon to import sugar.

In H1 2024 alone, Cameroon imported 105,400 tons of sugar—an increase of 31,000 tons compared to the previous year. According to a recent report by the Ministry of Finance on the country’s economic outlook, these sugar imports cost the nation CFA42.8 billion, further deepening the country’s trade deficit.

As the leading sugar producer in Cameroon, Sosucam is jointly owned by the government (26%) and the Somdiaa Group (74%), a major agro-industrial conglomerate operating in Africa. The company, founded in 1965, employs 8,000 people, both directly and indirectly, with an annual payroll of CFA14 billion and an average revenue of around CFA60 billion.

Source: Business in Cameroon