Importing from China to Cameroon: customs, CEEAC CET and ports in 2026

China is by far Cameroon's leading supplier, with 22.2% of total imports in 2024, ahead of India (7.6%), Belgium (6.1%) and France, relegated to fourth place with 5.9% (tresor.economie.gouv.fr, 2024 data, accessed 27 September 2026). In the second quarter of 2025, Chinese arrivals grew 25% year on year, to 226.8 billion CFA francs for 492,013 tonnes (investiraucameroun.com, published 4 February 2026), driven by vehicles and spare parts, which nearly doubled to 26.2 billion, steel products, which quadrupled to 44.9 billion, and agricultural inputs, up slightly to 17.01 billion.

No bilateral Cameroon-China agreement reducing import duties has been identified. The duty-free access China grants to almost all African countries makes it easier for Cameroon to export to China, not the other way round.

Cameroon is a member of both CEMAC and CEEAC. Since 1 January 2026, the two blocs have applied a unified common external tariff, approved on 18 October 2024 by the eleven CEEAC member states after negotiations launched in 2019 with support from the World Customs Organization and the European Union (investiraucameroun.com, cncc.cm, accessed 27 September 2026).

The new CEEAC-CEMAC common external tariff scales duties from 0% to 40% depending on the tariff line: 0% on seeds and aircraft equipment, 5% to 20% on most vehicles, machinery and construction materials, and up to 40% on cocoa powder, tobacco, mineral water, fabrics and ready-to-wear clothing (investiraucameroun.com, cncc.cm, accessed 27 September 2026). The US Department of Commerce guide, updated 10 April 2026, describes five categories capped at 30%: confirm the exact rate with customs or a freight forwarder.

VAT stands at 17.5%, plus additional municipal surcharges of 10% of the duty amount, giving an effective rate of about 19.25%, applied to the CIF value increased by duties and, where applicable, excise duty, plus an African integration contribution of 0.2% of the CIF value on goods from outside the African Union, including China (trade.gov, updated 10 April 2026). According to a Cameroonian firm specializing in customs taxation, further charges apply: a CEMAC community integration tax of 1% of CIF, an OHADA contribution of 0.05% and a customs IT fee of 0.5% (lefisk.cm, accessed 27 September 2026): have your freight forwarder reconfirm these, as they sometimes vary by product.

Example for a CIF value of 5,000,000 CFA francs at a 20% duty rate: customs duty 1,000,000, municipal surcharges 100,000, CEMAC tax 50,000, OHADA contribution and IT fee about 27,500, African integration contribution 10,000, then 19.25% VAT on the CIF value plus duties, around 1,155,000. The total comes to about 2,342,500 CFA francs, excluding PECAE fees and port charges.

The file is built online on e-Force before shipment (trade.gov, updated 10 April 2026; cncc.cm, accessed 27 September 2026).

ANOR, the national standards body, mandates the Pre-shipment Conformity Assessment Programme, or PECAE, established by prime ministerial decree on 1 July 2015 and implemented since 31 August 2016; it covers food, toys, electrical goods, cosmetics and construction materials (anor.cm; tuv.com, accessed 27 September 2026).

Mandated bodies, SGS, Intertek or TÜV Rheinland, issue a certificate of conformity that is forwarded to ANOR, which issues the certificate required for customs clearance. According to a Cameroonian firm specializing in customs taxation, this certificate is issued within one to two working days, for inspection fees of around 0.95% of the FOB value, to be confirmed with ANOR before placing your order (lefisk.cm, accessed 27 September 2026).

Article 9 of Law No. 2016/004 bans without exception chemical weapons, narcotics without medical authorization, counterfeit currency and material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors (lefisk.cm, accessed 27 September 2026). Other sensitive products (paints, cement, cosmetics, textiles) may be subject to ad hoc restrictions: check the status of yours before ordering.

A prior technical visa is required for medicines, veterinary products, pesticides, cosmetics, tobacco, alcohol, firearms and radioactive materials (lefisk.cm, accessed 27 September 2026). Used vehicles beyond a certain age attract an additional excise duty, to be reconfirmed with customs before purchase.

Douala remains the historic port, with container traffic almost stable, from 366,649 to 376,708 TEU between 2020 and 2025. The deep-water port of Kribi jumped to 555,398 TEU in 2025, up from 304,546 in 2024, an increase of about 82%, after Phase II of its container terminal came into service on 9 May 2025, taking its annual capacity to 1.3 million containers (ecofinances.net, newsducamer.com, investiraucameroun.com, accessed 27 September 2026).

From southern China, containerized freight departs from Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian for Douala or Kribi; we found no single, verifiable transit time, so ask your freight forwarder. Air freight, via Douala airport, is reserved for urgent or lightweight shipments. An FOB Incoterm, with a Cameroon-based freight forwarder chosen for the e-Force filing and customs clearance, leaves the buyer in control of transport; DDP requires a third party to act as the official importer in Cameroon, a role Sorva never takes on.

Cameroon uses the CEMAC zone's CFA franc, pegged to the euro. Payments to a Chinese factory are settled in dollars or yuan, exclusively to the company's business account, never to a personal account: a change of bank details received by email should be verified with a direct phone call before any transfer.

A first order follows a stable sequence: specifications, factory verification, an approved sample, a proforma invoice with the Incoterm, a deposit, a PECAE file opened in parallel with production for regulated products, tracking through dated milestones, a pre-shipment inspection, freight to Douala or Kribi, then the import declaration on e-Force and collection, a step that remains in the hands of the client or their local freight forwarder.

Sorva is a sourcing and trading house between China and the world, based in Guangzhou, backed by a Chinese subsidiary and a French parent company. Our Chinese-speaking team finds and verifies factories, arranges visits and samples, negotiates, has quality checked before loading and organizes freight to the chosen Cameroonian port, while gathering the documents needed for your PECAE file. We never act as the official importer in Cameroon and do not clear goods through customs locally. Our base offer is invoiced in dollars, with regional options quoted on request. Contact: WhatsApp +33 6 15 55 62 52, [email protected].