Which tariff regime applies to Moroccan goods in Cameroon
Goods of Moroccan origin entering Cameroon are assessed under the CEMAC common external tariff (TEC), the customs union tariff shared with Gabon, Congo, Chad, the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea. Morocco and Cameroon are both State Parties to the AfCFTA, and the WTO notes that every CEMAC country has signed and ratified it. Cameroon has traded under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative since 2022; the CEMAC offer described by Cameroon's shippers' council phases out duties on 90.01% of tariff lines over 10 years, liberalises 6.99% over 13 years after a five-year moratorium and excludes 2.99%. We could not find a published Cameroonian customs instrument confirming that the AfCFTA rate is granted at import to Moroccan-origin goods, so budget on the TEC and ask your customs broker whether an AfCFTA certificate of origin is accepted. We found no bilateral Morocco-Cameroon agreement granting tariff preferences; the joint commission last met in 2012.
Sources: wto.org, cncc.cm, tralac.org, directinfosgabon.com, africa24tv.com
Customs duties, VAT and other import charges in Cameroon
The CEMAC tariff has five bands: 0% for a short list of goods, 5% for essential goods such as medicines and agricultural inputs, 10% for raw materials and equipment, 20% for intermediate and miscellaneous goods and 30% for consumer goods. The WTO puts the average rate at 18.3% and notes that member states apply national exceptions, so check the exact tariff line. VAT on imports is 19.25%, calculated on the customs value plus duties and ancillary costs and payable at clearance; excise duty applies to listed products. Community levies (CEMAC, ECCAS, OHADA), an IT fee, inspection fees and an advance income-tax withholding are also collected at import, but we could not confirm their current rates from an official source: ask your customs broker for a full landed-cost simulation. Note that EU and UK goods enter under Economic Partnership Agreements with reduced or zero duty, which affects price comparisons with Moroccan offers.
Sources: trade.gov, wto.org, cga3s.com
Import procedure and documents for Cameroon
Published guidance lists the following documents for clearance: an attestation of verification issued by SGS, which carries out pre-shipment inspection and verification, the pro forma and commercial invoices, bill of lading or air waybill, packing list, freight invoice, insurance certificate, the electronic cargo tracking note (BESC) and, for regulated products, a certificate of conformity from the standards agency ANOR under its pre-shipment conformity programme (PECAE). The BESC is obtained by the shipper on the shippers' council (CNCC) platform for sea freight and, since 4 June 2018, for air freight at Douala and Yaounde; late filing triggers a penalty. Under the BEAC foreign-exchange regulation, every import requires an import declaration and any import worth XAF 5 million or more must be domiciled with a bank in Cameroon; failure to domicile is fined at 10% of the transaction. Practitioners report that the declaration is filed through the e-GUCE single window; confirm thresholds, PECAE product scope and importer registration with your broker.
Sources: trade.gov, cncc.cm, sgg.cg
Shipping from Morocco to Douala and Kribi
Cameroon has two container gateways: the historic port of Douala and the deep-water port of Kribi, whose container terminal is operated by Kribi Container Terminal. Kribi's port authority reports 559 vessel calls, about 16 million tonnes and 110,593 TEU of full import containers in 2025. Tanger Med's 2025 maritime connections booklet lists a weekly CMA CGM / Marguisa service to Kribi with a 17-day transit time. For Douala, a route aggregator shows Maersk and Grimaldi services from Tanger Med with one transhipment and about 17 days at best; treat this as indicative, as other listings show longer times, and ask your forwarder for the current schedule. We found no published transit time from Casablanca. For air freight, check availability first: Royal Air Maroc suspended its Douala and Yaounde routes on 24 May 2026 until further notice, citing fuel costs, so cargo may need to route via another carrier or hub.
Sources: tangermedport.com, pak.cm, fluentcargo.com, gabonmediatime.com
Securing payment between Cameroon and Morocco
The CFA franc (XAF) is pegged to the euro at a fixed parity of 655.957 XAF per euro, so contracts are commonly priced in euros. Under the BEAC foreign-exchange regulation in force since 1 March 2019, payments abroad must go through a credit institution, imports of XAF 5 million or more must be domiciled with a bank in Cameroon, and the bank must later clear the file with customs and transport documents. In practice, the Moroccan exporter should obtain the domiciliation reference before shipping and allow time for the transfer to be processed. For first orders, an irrevocable documentary credit, ideally confirmed, is the usual safeguard. Two Moroccan groups own banks in Cameroon: Attijariwafa bank (SCB Cameroun, acquired in 2011) and BCP (68.5% of BICEC since 1 October 2019), which can ease the opening and confirmation of credits. On the Moroccan side, exporters can insure buyer credit with SMAEX, the state-backed export credit insurer.
Sources: sgg.cg, ir.attijariwafabank.com, groupebcp.com, tradefinanceglobal.com
What Cameroon already buys from Morocco
UN Comtrade data relayed by Trading Economics put Moroccan exports to Cameroon at US$131.06 million in 2025, up from US$98.1 million in 2024. The largest lines in 2025 were fertilisers (US$46.24 million), paper and paperboard articles (US$22.62 million), electrical and electronic equipment (US$15.58 million), prepared and preserved fish (US$11.63 million), fresh or frozen fish (US$5.91 million), sugar and confectionery (US$5.21 million), articles of iron or steel (US$3.89 million) and plastics (US$2.38 million). These flows show where Moroccan suppliers are already competitive and have logistics in place: fertilisers, packaging, cables and electrical equipment, canned fish and steel products. Building materials, ceramics, sanitary ware and pharmaceuticals are produced in Morocco but do not appear among the main lines to Cameroon; they are worth requesting quotes for, bearing in mind that a 20% or 30% duty band and conformity certification may apply. Verify the tariff line before comparing prices.
Sources: tradingeconomics.com, africa24tv.com