Cameroon's Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries cut the frozen fish import quota of Congelcam S.A. from 200,000 tonnes in 2025 to 100,000 tonnes in 2026, the company said. Congelcam communications officer Joseph Flavien Kankeu warned on 15 October 2026 that markets could run short of fish from late November 2026 if the quota is not raised.
Congelcam says it exhausted its stocks in seven months and received only 30,000 tonnes of the 100,000 tonnes it requested in September 2026. The company puts the annual foreign exchange cost of fish imports at more than 150 billion XAF. The ministry has not published a detailed response to the company's figures.
The quota cut follows the government's import substitution policy, which aims to reduce currency outflows and support domestic fish production. Cameroon has 400 km of coastline and an aquaculture potential estimated at 500,000 tonnes a year, of which less than 10 percent is exploited, according to the government's own estimates. Artisanal fish farmers and fishers have long complained that imported volumes depress their prices.
Christian Ntimbane Bomo, executive president of the Heritge party, said the quota reduction targets a Cameroonian businessman for the benefit of foreign interests. He did not name those he accused. Consumer associations including FOCACO describe the quota as a protected revenue stream.
The ministry has not said whether it will grant additional import volumes. A decision is expected by the end of November 2026.