SMEs Encouraged To Access Japanese Market

A workshop to spur export of agro-industrial products to the Asian country held in Douala recently.

Business people from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises have been edified on requirements of the Japanese market for foods entering the country. A seminar by the Cameroon Chambre of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Crafts in collaboration with the Japan External Trade Organisation encouraged business people in Cameroon to export transformed foodstuff to this Asian nation.

The seminar, whose objective was to facilitate the access of certain local agro-industrial products to Japan, was opportunity for the Japanese to express their country's need for Cameroonian cocoa, fruits and agro-industrial products. Once transformed, the products will have to conform to specific standards and controls according to Japanese culture. This necessitates, however, the creation of local factories for transformation.

The General Manager of the Japan External Trade Organisation for Francophone Africa based in Abidjan stressed on meeting documentary exigencies, strict quality and insecticides controls which may be complicated because of the variance with those of the European and American markets. Insecticides, he said, posed a health problem in his country of recent and so it is taking serious measures to control imported foods entering the country. To him, the organisation is willing and ready to facilitate export to Japan by helping meet the requisite export requirements.

Based on the very few Japanese products on the Cameroonian market this highly industrialised nation wishes to increase the export of vehicles, motorcycles and textile accessories. It was disclosed that trade between the two countries is being challenged by the fact that Japanese investors don't have information about Cameroonian products. CCIMA Trade Section President Saibou Oumara said Cameroon in 2012 exported just three products to Japan: 21,509kg coffee, 395,326Kg of cocoa and 31,110Kg of beeswax all untransformed.